Love's a Rhapsody
by Converse r life
Summary: Harmony, now seventeen, falls in love with a certain Prince. But, will old memories, and new ideas, force her to lose her new love, or worse, her life?
1. Prologue

"But I love him!" Melody's shrieked voice said, making Harmony wince as she popped more popcorn into her mouth. It was like watching a soap opera, her family. See, her sister wanted to marry some prince of whateverland, and her parents refused to let her do it since she was only sixteen. But, Melody had the fact that Ariel herself had gotten married at sixteen—to a man she barely knew, that is. Eric was just refusing the idea all together. And Harmony was sitting on one of the couches in the study by herself, her legs pulled up in a criss-cross-applesauce position as she popped more buttery popcorn into her mouth and watched the drama unfold before her. This was better than TV!

"Melody, your sixteen. I know you think you're in love, but these feelings come and go when you're so young! In a week you'll forget all about this boy and have another one you 'love'." Ariel's gentle voice pointed out exhaustedly, a hint of annoyance creeping into it.

"You got married to Dad when you were my age! And did your feelings come and go, no because obviously you still love him! Let me get married, _please_!" Melody begged a tear or two actually streaming down her face. As Harmony had once quoted from a book and had told Melody "Most people don't cry when their sad. They cry when their frustrated." Well, that was definitely true now.

"And I as much as I love your father, I wish I had met him about two years later—that way I could have enjoyed two more precious years as a teenager instead of a Queen." Ariel's reason was killing Melody, Harmony realized in an off note in her mind.

"But you don't understand! I _have _to marry Lance! I _have_ to!" Melody begged, more tears streaming down her face as she pleaded with her parents. Ariel said nothing but shot Eric a clear 'you deal with this' look, before stepping forward and drying off her daughter's tears with a tissue.

"Melody, that's enough. You're not going to marry at sixteen, and that's final. You're too young to even be thinking about it…." Eric let the last part of that sentence trail off, as he shuddered to think of Melody actually getting married. He was….reluctantly alright with Harmony going out on a date, or Melody going off on a horse ride with Lance…but he wasn't about to let his sixteen year old daughter marry!

"Don't be mad at us Melody. You know we only have your best interest at heart. Someday you'll thank us for this." Ariel's voice murmured, wiping off her daughter's tears with the tissue. A snort from across the room made Ariel's head turn sharply…to see Harmony looking down at her converse and eating whatever the on earth she'd called that bag of buttery whatever things.

"I won't be the one thanking you for not letting me marry at sixteen, and instead marrying at eighteen. Your two year old grandchild will do that for me." Melody's whispered voice said, so soft a pin could have dropped and it would have been louder than her voice.

The room suddenly went silent. Eric stared open mouthed at Melody, as the tissue Ariel had been holding as she wiped off her daughter's tears suddenly fell to the floor. Harmony even stopped chewing on her popcorn, her mouth agape with half chewed food inside.

"What grandchild?" Ariel's sharp voice ask. It was a parental command that had to be answered, or be punishable by two weeks of being grounded. Melody sniffled and stared miserably at the carpeted floor of the study, shaking her head of black hair.

"The one I'm pregnant with. Lance and I…he's the father." Melody's whispered voice said in the completely quiet room. She'd been dreading having to do this, but if her parents wouldn't let her get married…than she had to tell them the truth.

"Pregnant?" The world suddenly seemed to be spinning to Ariel, as she managed to stumble back to Eric who was leaning against his desk. Falling into his arms, Ariel felt as though the heat of the room was suddenly getting to her, all too fast…

* * *

**Two months later…**

"Harmony, for goodness sake you look wonderful!" Ariel's voice laughed, prying her daughter's anxious face away from the mirror in her dressing room. "Now go! Have fun! But just remember, your curfew is at 11. Alright sweetheart?" Ariel said with a warm smile to her oldest daughter, kissing the girl's forehead lovingly. Harmony's gaze returned to her vanity mirror, and the extensive make up collection she kept on top of it.

"Are you sure?" Harmony's voice was anxious, a bit scared even. She hadn't seen Jared in almost a month—because he'd been busy every time she called him. But that was okay, it was fine actually because tonight he had promised to take her to see a movie. No dinner afterwards like usual dates went, but hey, a movie was better than nothing."Crap, my scar! I totally forgot about it!" Harmony said, grabbing her concealor bottle and quickly spinning the top off so she could put some on the scar that pierced through her eyebrow.

"Honey, enough makeup. You look great." Ariel said gently, taking the bottle away from an anxious Harmony. "If you leave now you won't be late for your date." Ariel's voice of reason pierced through Harmony's nerves, as the girl numbly nodded, running a fist through her loose red locks.

"Okay, yeah sure." What's surprising is that Harmony _was_ nervous. She had a bad feeling all day that something was going to happen, something big that would rattle her….but nothing so far had happened. Actually, today had been a pretty good day for the girl, and tonight, she had a date! So her feeling _must_ be wrong.

"Don't forget sweetheart. I want you home at eleven, and not a minute later, understand?" When Harmony nodded, while biting her lip, Ariel smiled warmly again at the girl. "Go, now. Have fun and be good. And trust me, you look fantastic." You would look better if you didn't try so hard and put so much makeup on, Ariel's mind added, but she knew better than to tell the girl that. Harmony would either start crying, or become furious…and Ariel didn't want either.

"Okay." Harmony said the word with a deep, calming breath to chillax her system. With a nervous look to her mother, who in turn gave her a warm smile, the girl muttered a few words under her breathe…and vanished.

"Where are the girls?" Eric asked, rather distractedly as Ariel slipped into the study and let her finger's gently massage her husband's shoulders. They both had a long day full of meetings, paperwork, and dealing with two adolescent teens.

"Harmony's out on a date, Melody's married, and Coral is fast asleep—snoring like her mother." Ariel answered, her slender fingers digging into Eric's sore muscles and relieving the tension in them.

"Really?" Eric said distractedly, looking over at some paper. Ariel nodded, htough she knew her husband wasn't paying attention. Well, this should get his attention.

"Since the girls are all taken care of…how about you and me take a little trip upstairs…to our room…I think I may have misplaced a few of my nightgowns…" Ariel let the thought trail off, a small smile on her features as she waited for Eric to respond. He did, but not in the way she expected him to.

"Really?" Eric said distractedly again, though it was more like he was saying that just to make it sound like he'd heard. Ariel sighed once in annoyance, but determined to get his attention, she took the papers out of his hands, ignoring the 'hey!' that came from him when she did.

"Eric, did you even hear what I just said?" Ariel wondered with an annoyed sigh. Her husband's eyes had a trace of panic in them as his mind tried thinking back to what he'd heard.

"Um…yes of course I did." Eric said, a hint of frantic in his tone as he tried to think back to his wife's previous words. Ariel raised a skeptical brow at him before sighing again and shaking her head.

"Then you do know that you just turned down sex, correct?" At Ariel's words Eric's eyes went wide at the thought of turning something so…_great_ down.

"I did?" Eric asked incredulously, as Ariel nodded, sitting on top of the desk and letting her legs swing in the air as though she was a child—or Harmony. "Well, not for long. Come on!" Eric suddenly grabbed his wife's hand, pulling her with him to the study door. Ariel couldn't help it; she laughed as she was pulled along quickly by her husband. Though, when Eric's hand was a centimeter from the door knob, the door swung open, revealing…Harmony.

Her eyes had a far off look in them, and her mascara and eyeliner was running down her face, as though she'd been crying. Her nose was red, and sniffling, though the girl seemed not to even notice that. Both Ariel and Eric looked at each other with the same, mystified look before Ariel reached out to her daughter.

"Harmony? What's wrong sweetheart?" Ariel's gentle voice asked, grasping her daughter's wrist and pulling the girl into the study. One minute ago she was prepared for a night of fun. Now, she was trying to see if she could get her daughter to come back to planet earth.

"Jared." It was the only words uttered from Harmony's lips, in an incredulous tone, as if she couldn't believe this was happening. At the name of her boyfriend though, Eric immediately grew…a bit overprotective.

"Jared?! What do you mean 'Jared'?! Did he do something to you?!" Eric's tone was a mix between alarm, overprotectiveness, and I-swear-I'm-going-to-murder-him-if-he-tried-to-touch-you.

"He broke up with me."

* * *

**Five Months Later**

"AHHH!! NO! NO! NO, NO, PLEASE, NO! AHHHH!" Ariel and Eric were jolted awake by the sound of screaming. It only took one shared look between them before reality set in and they realized who was screaming. Harmony.

In only a second, both parents had jumped out of bed, and were running with their robes half on to their oldest daughter's room. Guards followed close behind them, as their footsteps padded down the hallways. With a heart pumping in pure fear, Ariel twisted the knob of her daughter's door and swung it open.

Her blue eyes quickly scanned the room for any sign of an intruder…but there was none. That's when another scream erupted from the bed, and Ariel's eyes grew frightened and her eyes flickered to the bed, along with all the guards and Eric who had just caught up to Ariel at that moment. The only person in the bed was Harmony, was restlessly tangled up in the sheets and moving all over the bed.

"PLEASE! STOP! NO! NO! AHHHHHHHHHH!" More screams came out of Harmony's mouth, as Ariel rushed to the bed, her breathing a bit off from running so fast all the way to her daughter's room. She started to shake the girl as hard as she could, and without warning, Harmony shot up in bed, her face lined with sweat.

Her blue eyes were wild, as her head moved from thing to thing, place to place. She clutched at the sheets of her bed tightly, not able to recognize her room as tears were falling down her face.

"Harmony! Harmony, it's me. It's alright, it's just me. It's just Mom." Ariel's anxious voice said, trying to get the girl to calm down. Ariel could hear Eric saying something softly to the guards, but she disregarded him for the moment as she used both her hands to grip at Harmony's face and bring it up to her own. "It's just me Harmony. There's no one else, it's just Mom. It's just Mom sweetie." Ariel's said in a gentler tone, as she saw recognition flicker in the girl's eyes.

"M-Mom?" Harmony choked out the word, as Ariel nodded, her eyes anxious for the girl to understand that it was only her here. That the nightmares couldn't touch her now, it was only her. "Oh Mom." Harmony whispered, curling up into her mother's arms and starting to cry.

* * *

**Wow, big epilogue. But you need to know this info to understand most of this story, so...anyway, new story! I told you, it's set three years into the future. I'm sorry but I didn't want Harmony to fall in love at fourteen. That would be wayyy too much like Romeo and Juliet, except, you know, it wouldn't be illegal 'cuz the guy she likes isn't like eighteen, while she's only fourteen. :P **

**Okay, so I'm wondering. There are going to be some chapters in here that will include songs. But, these songs need like, two or three people. My question is, in those *special* chapters, will you all who read my stories be okay if I make into a 'random break out into song like in High School Musical--without the dancing' moment? PLEASE?! I await you answers, my faithful readers! **

**Westland is the name xJadeRainx came up with, in HER OWN STORY. All rights of that country go to her, since she created it. She rocks. **

**BLEH! EWWW! That taste's like throw up in my mouth! **

**Okay, so I bet you all want to know who won, though by now it should be kind of obvious. **

***SPECIAL MENTIONS!* **

**First place goes to...*drumroll* **

**Actually, to be honest, it was really a tie between xJadeRainxs tittle and Aurore Goddess of Dawns title in my book. But, I had to choose a title, so I did the only fair thing I could think of to choose the title. I wrote them both out on Word, and I had my three year old cousin point to the one he liked. He can't read yet, so this way, it was completely fair because he was pointing his fingers to a random one! Soooo....**

**Aurore, Goddess of Dawn! Congrats, you won the contest with the title 'Rhapsody'! Good job! **

**xJadeRainx congrats! You also won the contest with the title 'A Binary Tune'. **

**Since you both won, you both get the prizes! YAYYYY!!!!! CUPCAKES FOR ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! NOT REALLY, BUT IT"S NICE TO DREAM!!!!**

**The prize is you two get two choose one or two chapters each in which you want something, ANYTHING you want, to happen. Plus your mentioned in the story by the character of your choice, either in thought or in actual talking form. So...YAYYYY FOR BOTH! **

**And now, after you finish reviewing this chapter *and also remember my wondering if you guys will be okay with 'random break out into song like high school musical--wihtout the dancing'*, **

**ONTO THE STORY! WOOT WOOT! NEW STORY, I ROCK, EAT CUPCAKES, THROW THEM UP AFTER GOING ON TILT A WHIRL! WOOT WOOT! **

**......maybe I SHOULD be put away into an asylum**


	2. This Will Be the Most Boring Vacation

"You know, most of my friends are going up to Riverdale to hit the slopes and possibly crash into a tree so they could find a cute boy who would help them ski down the mountain. You won't _believe_ how jealous they were when I told them I was going to spend _my _winter vacation with my pregnant, hormonal sister who's seventeen, _and _my parents were coming to." Harmony said dryly, looking out the carriage window with a scowl as her arms crossed over her chest in anger.

"Mhm. Did you forget to mention that you would be staying in a castle?" Ariel's equally dry tone pointed out to her daughter, who pressed her face against the carriage window and groaned.

"The last year I'll have winter break in high school, and I'm stuck going to whateverland. Great." Harmony groaned, her hot breath against the carriage window melting some of the condensation.

"It's Westland, Harmony. I'm sure your mother and I have told you that a thousand times already." Eric said with a sigh, looking at his daughter and shaking his head. Honestly, the girl was acting as though she was a prisoner on this trip. Girls would _kill _for the opportunity to go to Westland and stay at the royal palace—that is, all girls besides Harmony.

"It's not even in the west. It's in the east. Why is it called _West_land?" Harmony wondered, her forehead still pressed against the carriage window as her eyes took in the snowy countryside of her kingdom. Eric was just about to point out that in fact, it _was_ located in the west, when another voice spoke before him.

"Who cares? I'll just be glad to get off this…um…" Coral stuttered over the unfamiliar term for moving-box-on-wheels.

"Carriage honey." Ariel filled in, flashing a wary smile to her oldest niece. The girl, who had finally come clean to her mother about how she loved land (coming clean in the sense that Harmony blurted it out randomly when Attina was in the room). It'd taken a lot of begging, pleading, puppy dog pouts, and even a few crocodile tears until both Coral's parents, sighing, let her be human. Though, not without a few rules. For example, the girl could spend weekdays with her Aunt and Uncle on land, but weekends she spent with her parents under the sea. And a few more rules that Coral really hated, but obliged to following.

"Right. Carriage." Coral said, her face turning green at the carriage lurched forward again, after stopping for a moment or too. Turning to her Aunt, Coral felt like she was going to upchuck her breakfast. "Aunt Ariel, I feel sick." The girl groaned, clutching her stomach and swallowing down her spit.

"You're just not used to riding in carriages sweetie." Ariel murmured to the girl. "Here, lie down and try to sleep a little. You'll feel better once you wake up." Ariel's comforting voice sounded in Coral's dizzy ears, as the girl numbly nodded and rested her head on top of her Aunt's lap.

"Hey Coral, did you know that it's like, a law, that if you barf in a carriage your supposed to walk all the way back home, by yourself?" Harmony's voice sounded to Coral, as she wrenched herself away from the window and looked at her cousin.

"It is?" If Coral didn't feel so dizzy from the moving-box-on-wheels, she would have completely disregarded that statement. But, thanks to the fact her mind was preoccupied with trying not to barf, she completely believed her older cousin.

"Be quiet Harmony." Ariel's voice wasn't scolding, no, it was warning that if she even dared fill Coral's mind with ridiculous things about the human world again, she'd be in trouble. "Of course it's not Coral. Don't believe your cousin. Now, try and get to sleep." Ariel stressed the 'sleep' part of her words, as Coral numbly nodded and closed her eyes.

The only sound in the carriage for the next ten minutes was Ariel's soft humming, and the sound of Eric flipping pages in the book he was reading. Too bored for words, Harmony pulled out her iPhone 5G.

"Oh no you don't." Ariel's voice startled Harmony, who nearly dropped her phone as she looked at the woman with questioning eyes. "Eric, can you take her phone away?" Ariel addressed her husband, who also gave her a questioning look as to what she was doing. When he saw the firmness in Ariel's eyes though, he immediately reached over and plucked the phone away from Harmony's grasp.

"What?! But—that's—phone—text—Wi-Fi—" Harmony stuttered in disbelief, her eyes filled with panic at the thought of not using her phone for the rest of the trip. How would she listen to music and drown out her parents? Or text someone, even though there was no Wi-Fi anywhere?!

"This is a family vacation Harmony. Like it or not, your part of this family, and I'm not going to have you spend the entire week on this contraption." Ariel stated firmly, as a jaw dropped Harmony watched in horror as her mother took her iPhone from her father.

"Fine. I'll just get it away from you using my powers." Harmony finally said with a note of triumph in her voice. Ariel looked over at her husband, who both shared an apprehensive look at the mention of her powers.

"First of all, you're not getting this back all week." Ariel said, leaning down a moment to reach for something she'd put next to her feet. Ah, here it was. A small metal case that had 'Ariel' inscribed on the lid in gold. Slipping the phone into the case that was really meant more for jewelry, Ariel quickly locked it using the key—the locket around her neck. Upon looking up, she saw Harmony looking like she wanted to murder the woman. Already blue flames were dancing on the edge of the girl's fingers.

"Harmony, don't be so furious. Your mother just wants you to have a nice vacation. You need to get away from everything more than anyone else, and you can't do that if you're stuck doing whatever it is you do on your phone." Eric's calm voice of reason stated. Harmony's mind processed his words, and upon finding them reasonable enough, she sighed and fell back against the seat, her flames dowsed.

"Also honey, your father and I were talking…and we want you to try and not use your powers this week." Ariel held up a hand to silence her daughter for a moment when she saw the girl's mouth open in protest. "You know we have no problem with you using them at home, and we know you can control your powers. But, we don't want you getting in trouble using them while we're in Westland. I want to spend as much time as a I can with Melody; I don't want to be babysitting you because I think you'll cause trouble. So, please, for the week, be good and _try_ not to use your powers. If you are I'll give you your phone back for the ride home, alright?" Ariel's voice asked in a hopeful tone. Harmony processed this in her brain about ten times straight. Half of her said to hell with it, the other half said to follow what Ariel was saying. Her conscious, sadly, made the decision for her.

"Oh fine!" Harmony said, exasperation seeping off of her. "But just so you know, when we get to whateverland, I'm going to find that nice apple tree Melody keeps talking about in her letters, grab a rope, and hang myself because I'm going to be so damn _bored_." Harmony warned her tone a bit angry to her mother and father. Both shared a look between them again, silently since Coral was fast asleep on Ariel's lap, before wry smiles pulled up on the corners of their lips.

"Well," Ariel said with a wry smile that Harmony couldn't see since the girl was staring angrily out the window. "as long as you do it without using your phone or powers, I don't really mind."

* * *

**I really did love writing this chapter. Amazing how much fun it was for me to write it! Review it and tell me what you think. **

**Also, in the next chapter, Harmony meets a certain prince....*meant to be said in 'haha, I know who he is, but you don't' tone* **

**REVIEW!**

**Ps. I forgot to mention in my other stories about Harmony's one, itsy bitsy weakness. She can't do a thing about any materials that aren't natural to the earth. That means, if her cell phone is in a small metal box, and Ariel has the key--which is her locket (her locket is a small, heart shaped locket Eric gave to her at their enagagement ball. It has her name inscribed on it too, in gold letters in says "Ariel". Even though her locket is really silver, the chain holding the locket is a type of metal), Harmony is completely powerless and can't do a thing to get her cell phone back. Just thought you should know that! **


	3. Looking for That Apple Tree

"…95 packs of Marlboro's on the wall, 95 packs of Marlbor-ro's, you take one down, smoke it around, 94 packs of Marlbo—" Harmony was suddenly cut off by both her Mother's furious glance in her direction.

"Harmony, you're a young lady. Stop mentioning packs of cigarettes that you want to smoke." Ariel's furiously calm voice said as Harmony sighed heavily. What she'd do for a smoke right now…

"She's having withdrawal symptoms Ariel." Eric's tone was calm reasoning to Ariel's fury. "She can't help it." Eric's calm voice put Ariel back into reasoning mode, as her blue eyes warily switched to her daughter who looked tired.

"Yeah, I can't help it." Harmony repeated in a drowsy voice. "When are we going to get to Wonderland?" The girl asked, her head leaning against the window again because she was exhausted from waking up early, and managing to avoid sleep for this long in the trip.

"It's _West_land, and soon enough honey. Try to get some sleep, alright? We'll wake you up when we're there." Ariel's soft voice said, not managing to hold back her smile she had. Harmony made a skeptical sound in her throat, but tired from staying up; the girl finally did as she was told. Using her father's lap as a pillow, she curled up and fell asleep.

Too soon, like, after five minutes of sleep too soon, Harmony was woken up along with a now not-green Coral. As the carriage pulled up to the whateverland palace, both Harmony and Coral's face were pressed against the window to get a view of the place. On the front steps leading into the castle, Harmony could distinguish her now really pregnant sister, her husband Lance—whom Harmony called Lansing Michigan which he still didn't get—two people next to them—Harmony summarized they must be the King and Queen of WannaDoCityland—and somebody that was standing a little away from all of them. Harmony couldn't see who the person was because of the glare of the sun. Shaking off those thoughts though, the girl prepared to do two things. One, avoid trying to hug at all costs. And two, find that damn apple tree and get a rope.

Eric got off the carriage first, and, like the gentleman he was, helped his wife down with a wolfish grin that just spelled trouble. Then, he extended his arm to a wary Coral who took it and got down too. Now it was time for Harmony. The girl took one look at her father's arm, and then to the people on the steps, before rolling her eyes and jumping down from the carriage easily. Ignoring her Mother's warning glance and Father's slight grimace, Harmony stood by her cousin as her eyes started roaming for that apple tree.

"Ariel!" Queen Margaret's voice called out in glee, rushing towards her long time friend and wrapping her arms around her. Ariel laughed as she hugged Margaret back. The women had been friends for years now. Eric had been childhood friends with Leroy, the King of Westland, and so on one of those visits to Westland to see his old friend again, Ariel had come along and, next thing you know, Margaret and her are fast friends. Kind of creepy, if you asked Harmony, but then again, she was wallpaper. She was supposed to be there, but not to talk. She was supposed to look pretty, but not express her real opinions.

"And who's this?" Margaret's voice wondered when she released Ariel from her hug to find…two teenagers behind her. One of them was an exact copy of Ariel when she was seventeen—besides the electric blue streak she had running through a section in the front of her hair and the fact that the teenager had arms crossed over her chest, and she looked bored to death. The other teenager was about an inch shorter than the first, with long red-brown locks and excited green eyes.

"That would be my niece, Coral." Ariel introduced, as Margaret smiled at the girl who hesitantly smiled back. "And this would be my oldest daughter, Harmony. She wasn't at the wedding because she had finals." Ariel nearly winced at introducing Harmony to Margaret, who in turn gasped.

"No, this can't be Harmony!" Margaret said, and Harmony nearly choked herself to death. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't even crawl!" Margaret laughed, and Harmony gave a weak smile in return, but other than that, was silent. The minute Margaret turned her back, was the moment Harmony's weak smile faded from her lips.

"Mother! Dad! Harmony! Coral!" Melody caught sight of her family and tried to make it to them as fast she could—which wasn't very fast, considering she was nine months pregnant. Still, she made it over to her family with a beamish smile, Lance right behind her.

While Ariel, Melody, and Eric had their moment, Harmony's eyes traveled up to the straggler of the group. He was definitely a man, probably not much older than Harmony herself. But the girl couldn't really see his face, thanks to the fact he was mostly hidden in the shadows. Who was he? Was he as bored as she was? What was his name, Harmony wondered, her curiosity overwhelming.

"Coral! I can't believe—I mean Mom told me that you had—but it's so weird—but I'm so happy!" Melody said finally to her cousin, leaning in and hugging the girl as best she could with a massive belly.

"Okay, okay, I'm happy to see you too Mel." Coral laughed, hugging her cousin as best she could with Melody's giant tummy in the way. That's when all eyes turned to Harmony.

"Hug me and I don't care if you're pregnant or not Mel, I _will_ kill you." Harmony said easily, the words rolling off her tongue as if they were a simple 'hi, I've missed you'. If Ariel had been listening, she'd have killed Harmony on the spot. But Ariel was too busy talking to Margaret. If Eric had been listening he would have grounded her for two weeks. But Eric was laughing with King Leroy. So that only left loner boy who heard, Lance, Coral, and Melody.

"Same old Harmony." Melody said with a grin and shake of the head, but put up both her hands in a surrendering fashion to show she wouldn't hug her sister.

"You're one strange sister in law Harmony. But, good to see you anyway." Lance had an easy laugh about him, something that for some reason, really ticked Harmony off.

"At least _my_ name isn't Lansing Michigan." Harmony said in an overly sweet tone, as Lance finally groaned. Melody put a comforting hand on his arm.

"For the thousandth time, it's _Lance_. Not Lansing Michigan. I thought you had out grown calling me that by now." Lance groaned again, as this time a real, smile reached up the corners of Harmony's mouth.

"Whatever you say, Lansing Michigan." Harmony said with a genuine small smile on her lips. "Hey…Mel? Who's that guy over there?" Harmony nodded in the direction of the loner, as Melody's eyes, along with Lance's and Coral's traveled to where Harmony had directed them. At seeing the loner boy, Lance groaned again.

"I_ told_ him to be polite." Lance muttered under his breath, before looking up. "Mother, he hasn't come out and said hello yet." Lance told his mother, directing both her and Ariel's gaze to the guy in the shadows. Leroy and Eric stopped their conversation as they wondered why on earth everyone had stopped talking.

"Come out already!" Margaret's call was directed towards her wayward son. In the shadows, Harmony could see the man sigh heavily, as if disappointed, as he walked out of the shadows and into the sun. Harmony kept her gaze on her converse, which just barely poked out of her dress. She was suddenly feeling abashed, though she didn't quite know why.

"This is my younger son, Jonathan. We call him Nathan, for short." Margaret said with a weak smile, pushing her son forward a little. Both Ariel and Eric did a double take when they saw him. Last they'd seen him he was…about fourteen? How time flied!

"Hello." Ariel greeted warmly, along with Eric's 'hello'.

"Hello." The boy greeted, a bit stiffly, and mostly because he felt someone (his father) poke him in the back as if to say be-nice.

"This is my niece, Coral." Ariel introduced quickly, as Coral smiled at the boy. Her smile faltered when all he gave back was a weak smile, that was off of his face the second Ariel turned back to him. "And this is my older daughter, Harmony." Great, the boy thought to himself, not really looking at Harmony as his eyes were focused on the ground, some air head. Great, Harmony thought to herself, her eyes still focused to the ground, some pretty boy.

"Nathan, say hello." Leroy's voice admonished his son, making the boy's cheeks flair up red. He wasn't a toddler; he could very well speak for himself. Still, to avoid anymore embarrassment, he bowed politely to the air head, still not looking at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Princess." His voice was polite, and Harmony felt like she was going to barf up her breakfast. Princess. Oh how she hated those terms! She had a name!

"My name is Harmony. Not 'Princess' not 'Your Highness'. Harmony." The girl said firmly, finally bringing her eyes up to meet the boy's…and having her heart beat like a bongo drum in her chest when she saw his face. And apparently, his heart was doing the same because when he looked at her, shock and admiration were in his gaze.

This boy wasn't 'Nathan.' He wasn't a pretty boy, either. Oh, he was devastatingly handsome alright, but he wasn't a low life scum like Jared had been. Pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside. But, this boy wasn't like that. No, he was different because Harmony knew this boy. She'd known him since she was fourteen, in October, on the beach when she saved him from getting the crap continued beaten out of him. He no longer wore glasses, and his hair was longer and wavier than it had been last time she'd seen him. Harmony knew who he was, and apparently, he knew who she was.

"Harmony?!"

"John?!"

* * *

**Ohh! I'm so glad I got to post this up! Now you don't have to wonder who the Prince is! But, i know your quesitons already. 'Wasn't John just a boy who lived in Shireland, you know, not royalty?' or 'What was John doing in the Valentine's Day ball?' Ah, all these questions will be cleared up soon enough. Now, it is 4:05 in the morning in Miami. I'm tired, so i'm going to go to sleep. REVIEW!**


	4. An Explanation Worth Crying Over

"You two know each other?" Eric asked in surprise, his blue eyes—along with everyone else's eyes looking at Harmony and John, who were both staring open mouthed at each other.

"We were friends when we were fourteen." John's slightly awed voice said; gazing at the girl he hadn't seen since he was fourteen. Oh, but she wasn't a girl anymore. The last time he'd seen her had been at the Valentine's Day ball, looking stunning in her pink dress, but still a girl in so many ways. Now…now she was a woman. Instead of a flat chest she now had pretty well sized bosom in its place. She now had a figure that the material of her dress flowed off of beautifully. Her face had grown more mature and her eyes were like…like some type of color that hadn't been discovered yet. It was….amazing.

"Good, then the two of you know each other so we don't need introductions." Margaret said cheerfully, clasping her hands together. Both Harmony and John recovered from their moments and closed their mouths…but they didn't take their eyes off of each other.

"Yeah…" Harmony's voice said, though her mind had no recollection of ever making her mouth move. John was…so…amazing now. And she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from him. The way he smiled at her, the way his chocolate brown eyes danced when he looked at her…*sigh*.

Ariel and Margaret's eyes flickered back and forth between Harmony and John, before the women shared a knowing look. Eric, Lance, and Leroy were wondering what on earth was going on between Harmony and John. Coral and Melody raised their brows at each other, in question as to what had Harmony and John so tongue tied.

"It was a long ride from Shireland, you must all be exhausted." Margaret finally said, trying to hide her small knowing smile and not look at Harmony or John, for fear they'd figure out what her and Ariel knew.

"I think some rest would do all of us some good, right Eric?" Ariel asked her husband who flashed a grin in her direction. Ariel was hiding something, he knew it. But that was alright. He'd soon have her all to himself and be able to get it out of her.

"Probably." Eric said, before turning to Leroy with a laugh. "Remember when we were children, how much we'd _beg _not to have to rest?" Eric laughed at the memory, along with Leroy.

"If I recall correctly, the moment the carriage stopped you would jump out and run away from your mother." Leroy's nostalgic grin was impossible to miss at the old memory. Though Eric could be a reasonable man now, as a child he'd been an absolute terror, wreaking havoc wherever he went.

"Ah, those were the days." Eric said with nostalgic grin. His wife managed a small smile in his direction before she returned her gaze to Harmony and John, who were now trying not to look at each other. Needless to say, it wasn't working well.

"I'd really hate to break up this moment, but I'm sure everyone wants some rest." Lance intervened, forcing himself not to roll his eyes at his father's nostalgia.

"I second that." Coral said, feeling her stomach lurch. Maybe she shouldn't have eaten anything for breakfast…she was really hoping now that she wouldn't barf out that piece of toast she'd had this morning. Ariel's gentle laugh sounded, as she put a comforting hand on Coral's shoulder.

"You'll have to excuse my niece. She's not used to riding in carriages yet." Ariel said with another laugh, before linking arms with Margaret and walking inside to the palace, both women talking ten miles a minute. Their husbands weren't far behind them, laughing as they found some old memory and were discussing it again. Lance, Melody, and a pale Coral all walked together behind the adults, talking about something Harmony didn't quite catch. And then, there were two.

"You're the Prince of Wonderland?!" Harmony asked sharply, before immediately regretting it. Stupid, her mind scolded, be nice.

"I can explain Harmony, really, I can." John sounded so stupid! But, it seemed as though Harmony didn't notice as she waited for his explanation. Taking in a breath, he started.

"My mother's brother and his wife live in Shireland. Every October since I was nine, and Lance eleven, we were sent to stay with them for the entire month. The October when I was fourteen I went alone because Lance was studying abroad….and then I met you. And we were great friends and everything…but I couldn't tell you I was a prince! I mean, you were…so amazing…but you _hated _royalty…and I didn't want to lose you as a friend…so I pretended I was John, the normal boy who lived in Shireland. But, October ended, and I had to leave…so I lied to you about leaving. I'm really sorry about that…but I wanted to still be your friend. And then, after begging for hours, I finally managed to convince my parents to let me stay in Shireland, for a week, which just so happened to be the week of Valentine's Day, and then I saw you at the ball and I knew what Alec was planning because I'd heard him and I didn't want you to get hurt…the next day I left. I didn't even get to really see you on Valentine's Day." John finished his explanation, out of breath and with hopeful eyes to Harmony. He'd expected Harmony to raise her red brows and say that she didn't like to be lied to…instead…she looked…crushed.

"I-I've got to catch up to my parents." Harmony finally managed to stutter out, before turning away from John and running towards the inside of the palace. John stood there, outside, his brows knitting together in confusion. Odd…he felt…horrible. Like, as if seeing Harmony so hurt made him feel like he was hurt too. What on earth was going on?


	5. Lip Locking in the Library

Harmony laid back on the bed, into the pillows, and tried to figure out her mind. Dinner had passed, with everyone laughing and smiling…except for her and John. They'd been focused on catching sneak peeks at each other, and when their eyes met, both their cheeks would grow red and they'd quickly look away. Now, it was nearly eight at night, and Harmony's mind was a whirlwind.

Why did she feel so…_giddy_ when John gave her a tiny, awkward smile? Why was it that when he accidently brushed against her wrist, she felt an almost electric like shock run through her veins? Why did her heart beat fast every time he said her name? Why did she feel so…_amazing_ all of a sudden? Determined to figure out what the hell was wrong with her, Harmony got up off the bed and grabbed her robe. She didn't tie it around her; she left it open, which she knew would annoy her mother greatly.

Instead of wearing a nightgown, Harmony was wearing a pair of short shorts and an old white shirt with all of her teammates signatures on it. The collar of her shirt was cut off, so that it fell off her shoulder, leaving one shoulder bare. It'd taken ten full minutes of begging and promising that she wouldn't leave her room without a robe on over her 'indecent night clothes' until Ariel had relented. Too bad Harmony hadn't been able to have her mother let her pack her jeans and favorite sweatshirt.

Sticking her head out of her room, Harmony took a quick peak left and right in the hallway before deeming it empty and walking through. Harmony would have headed straight to find the library in this palace, before she found a door in the hallway that was open. It was the door that led to the small sitting room, which led to her parents bedroom. Unable to resist her curiosity, Harmony pressed her eye against the crack in the door and watched while listening.

"….she coping Mother?" Melody's soft voice asked, making Ariel sigh heavily. They must be talking about Coral coping with land, Harmony's mind stated, though she had no idea why Ariel would sigh heavily.

"Not well. Two nights ago she was screaming in her sleep; she woke almost everyone in the palace. Plus she's bitter, sarcastic…I don't know what I'm going to do with her anymore." Ariel's voice gave another heavy sigh, as Harmony's eyes flashed and widened at the same time. They were talking about _her_!

"What about her powers? Does she at least have some control over them now?" Melody asked her Mother, as Ariel sighed heavily for the third time.

"She has more control over them, yes, but she still has the occasional lapse that always makes her bedridden for a week. I even told her not to use her powers this week. I gave her some excuse about how I don't want to have to babysit her all week, but in truth, I just want her, for one week, to be _normal_." Ariel said, grimacing a little. Before Melody could answer her mother, the door to the sitting room slammed open, revealing a furious and inflamed Harmony.

"I thought I was finished dealing with the whole 'Harmony is a freak' thing three years ago. I guess I was wrong." Harmony's bitter laugh filled the room, as Ariel jumped to her feet, her hand covering her mouth in shock that Harmony had heard that.

"Sweetheart…I-I—you're taking my words out of context, I mean…" Ariel couldn't think up a decent lie at the moment. Melody was struggling to stand up, but finally gave up and fell back against the couch.

"Don't bother." Harmony said bitterly. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for shallow promises. You know what? I'm going to go up to Riverdale, snowboard down the slopes with my friends for the next week, and then I'll go to the state and tell them 'hey, I'm an orphan. Put me in a group home.' I'm sure I'll have a happy life." Harmony's voice dripped with venom, as she quickly turned on her heel and angrily walked out of that room.

The girl passed her door, but she barely gave it a second glance. She wasn't going to go to her room now and be filled with a stupid promise, no, she was going to go to…to…damn Ariel for dragging her along on the cursed trip, to another castle with a completely different layout than the one she called her somewhat home.

Cursing under her breath, Harmony walked through the different hallways, not even paying attention to the portraits or antiques that lined them. It was late enough that no one would be walking through the hallways, making a girl in short shorts and a cutoff shirt less freakish. Her face was twisted into a scowl, as she stopped in front of two large, double doors. Well, this could either be A) a bedroom that people were now *occupying* B) a study where Lance, Eric, and Leroy were all in, or C) a room with stuff inside. Well, never know until you find out Harmony's mind said, as the girl felt herself shrug a little and open the doors.

For a moment, all she could do was blink in shock…until reality set in. Why on earth did she always find the libraries in palaces? Shaking off the thought, Harmony walked into the library with a small sigh. Going over to a shelf, she ran her fingers over the titles of books she'd read, and some she'd never even seen before. Sighing softly, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself inside one of the books…until she was broken out of her small moment by someone clearing their throat behind her. Swiveling around, Harmony's blue, unthawed eyes met those of…John's.

"Er…I guess you're trying to escape reality too?" John weakly joked, trying hard not to stare…too much at Harmony's strange clothes that she apparently would sleep in. It a stupid joked, his mind scolded, but he was rewarded by the small smile reaching on Harmony's naturally red lips.

"Yeah. Just trying to escape my personal hell on earth." Harmony said with a weak smile, feeling the tears already well up in her eyes as memories came flooding back. Putting both her palms over her eyes, she sniffled and tried to keep it all down.

"You're upset." John realized, his heart suddenly pumping madly as he stepped across the room to get next to Harmony. Again, he felt that same shock of…of just something run up his veins as he put a light hand on her wrist. Neither Harmony nor John pulled away their touch from each other this time though.

"No, no, it's nothing. Just…Just forget about it." Harmony said, trying to pull away from John for a moment so he wouldn't see her cry. John let her do no such thing though, as he, on impulse, wrapped his arms around her softly sobbing frame. Harmony, also on impulse, leaned her head against his chest—which felt very muscle-y.

"What happened?" John asked quietly, tilting Harmony's face upwards so that he could see her. Somehow, he'd grown a full head taller than her since they were fourteen; though in his memory she'd always been at least an inch taller than him.

"I-I overheard Mom…and Melody…talking. They-They want me to try and be…normal…but they said it like…like if I was a freak or something. And…and I just can't go through all this again. Not after what happened last time." Harmony shuddered at the horrible memories from her past, crying softly into John's chest. He vaguely remembered Harmony seeing him in the middle of the night and explaining something about her life to him…but that was so long ago, he hardly remembered it. Still, for some reason, he felt…oddly…_hurt_ that Harmony was crying. As though it was his fault that she was.

"You won't go through it again Harmony, I promise." John said the words of sympathy to the girl, who sniffled and nodded, slowly regaining herself. Though John's hands were holding her lower back, and holding him close to her…she felt oddly…_happy_ she was with _him_.

Slowly, and on impulse from both parties, John leaned into Harmony's tilted upwards face. Ever so gently, his lips were just barely brushing hers. Somewhere in his subconscious, he knew he shouldn't be doing this, and he'd be slapped any minute. But Harmony only slowly went up on her tippy toes, so that it was easier for him to kiss her…and she to kiss him back. Their lips started to meet and they started to lock…

"Ahem." A voice from both Harmony and John sounded. Almost immediately, John dropped his hands from Harmony's lower back, and Harmony stepped away from the boy, suddenly _fascinated_ by her cut off shirt. Both of them were blushing furiously.


	6. Revenge is Slow But Fatal

"I hope I wasn't interrupting something." Melody's voice just hinted in subtle smugness, as her eyes looked up and down at John and her sister. Both of them blushed furiously even more, before Harmony spoke.

"I think the hormones are getting to your brain Mel. Nothing was happening. We were just…_talking_." Harmony's usually smooth lie was all…wrong. For starters, actual feeling went into it, as though she was trying to cover something up, and secondly, her heart was beating amazingly fast, and her lips were tingling where John had brushed his against hers. Her entire body felt…tingly, actually.

"Well then, I'm afraid I'm going to cut your conversation short. Mother was very…_distressed_ when you left the room. Come on; let's go back before she has a panic attack." Melody said with a small laugh to herself, waddling over to Harmony and latching onto her arm tightly. Shooting John a sorry look, Harmony let herself be dragged out of the library by a pregnant woman—aka, her sister.

The minute the library doors closed behind Melody and Harmony, and Harmony was still dragged along, Melody started speaking.

"What was that?" She inquired, not being able to hide the knowing smile off her face. So, it had finally happened. Harmony had fallen in love. Oh how romantic!

"What was what?" Harmony inquired, an eyebrow plucking off, though the slight blush in her cheeks gave her off.

"You like him, don't you?"

"Mel, after what happened with Jared...I'm just taking a break from boys for now, okay?" Harmony said with a small hurt sigh, wincing at the last memory of Jared. How stupid she'd been! To believe he actually loved her, how incredibly stupid! All he'd wanted was a trophy girlfriend, someone who looked good so he could show off to all his friends. And the worst thing of all that was, that she'd believed he actually wanted to see her at the movies. He didn't even have the guts to show up in person, no he had his friends tell her it was over. How…_grr _making was that?

"Not all boys are like that Harm." Melody said softly, placing a gentle hand on her sister's wrist. Harmony shook it off in a second, as a bitter smile came over her face.

"Just tell that to Lucas. Or Jared. Or Alec. Or Harvey. I'm going to be single for awhile Mel, and for once, please, don't interfere with my life." Harmony said with a sigh. Her sister wobbled and frowned at her twin, but said no more until the girls reached Harmony's room.

"Mother must be in a panic by now." Melody muttered under her breathe, as Harmony turned the doorknob and opened the door to her room. Inside, Ariel was…as Harmony put it, having a spaz attack. The minute her mother's eyes reached Harmony she let out a breath of relief and tightly hugged the girl to her.

"Oh thank Poseidon your safe! I was so worried!" Ariel's words sounded out in Harmony's ears, as the girl shrugged and easily slipped out of her mother's arms, shooting Melody a warning look not to say a word. Too bad a pregnant Melody knew Harmony wouldn't murder her…as long as she was pregnant that is.

"She was in the library, with _John_. They were about to kis—" Melody found herself suddenly incapable of speech. Looking up, she saw a smirking Harmony, who had murder in her eyes.

"John? You too were about to _what_? Wait, what happened?" Eric wondered, walking into his daughter's room, and smelling almost faintly of just a little tobacco, as though he'd been smoking a cigar with Leroy.

"Oh you know." Ariel said dismissively, shooting Melody a tiny wink at the now understanding of what had happened to Harmony. "We were just having some fun with baby names." Ariel was an amazing liar when it came down to it. Shooting Harmony a warning look at muting her sister, Ariel then looked up at her husband with innocent eyes.

"Let's go rest a little Eric." Ariel said with a conspirital wink to her husband, who immediately understood what his wife was really aiming at. Harmony flopped face forward on her bed and groaned, before she started talking again.

"If you guys are going to have sex, can you keep it down? 'Cause, you're only down the hall, and unfortunately, I have ears which can hear every damn orgasm you two have." Harmony groaned again, as Ariel, Eric, and Melody all turned bright red at the mention of sex…parents…well, you get the picture.

"Uh…um…I-I think I'm going to find Lance, and, uh…you know, talk to him about the um…the…uh…baby! Yes, that's it, the baby! Goodnight Harmony, Goodnight Mom and Dad." Melody said a quick excuse, anything to get out of the room with Harmony who was making obscene comments about their parents private life.

"We…uh…goodnight!" Ariel quickly sputtered out, grabbing her husband's hand and easily dragging him away from Harmony's room. That girl! Now for a fact that the mood was ruined, Ariel and Eric weren't going to have any fun tonight! In the distance, as Ariel shut the door to her daughter's room, she thought she heard laughing…like, evil revenge laughing.

From Harmony, of course.


	7. The Joys of Horseback Riding and Falling

Breakfast, unfortunately, was with the in laws. Harmony was staring at the butter knife next to her fork, and wondering how long it'd take for her to slit her own throat with it. Really, all everyone ever did was 'chatter chatter' 'murmur murmur'. It was really quite annoying. Oh no. She'd said _quite_. It was official. She was going insane.

Resting her head on her hand, with her elbow directly on the table, despite the warning look from her mother, Harmony tried hard not to sigh. Oh sure, she could be snowboarding and meeting cute guys right now like Emma, but no, she has to go on a stupid family vacation. Seriously, how lame was that?

"…baby!" Melody finished telling some story, and everyone laughed—everyone besides John who looked like he wouldn't mind strangling Melody, and Harmony, who was glowering at Melody. Ever since she'd become pregnant all Melody ever said was things about the baby. If it wasn't a letter that had 'baby' in it at least forty times (literally) or if it wasn't a story about the damn unborn baby, it was always 'baby'.

"You know, I just had the most marvelous idea!" Margaret's voice sang out, as John winced. He knew that tone, he knew it all too well. Now he'd be forced to do something…

"Oh?" Ariel played along, though she knew Margaret's exact idea.

"Jonathan, why don't you and Harmony take a ride around the palace grounds? Perhaps you could show her the orchard…" Huh. Actually, that wasn't such a terrible idea, coming from his mother and all. Turning to Harmony, he gave her a grin.

"Want to?" He wondered, and something inside of him begged her to say yes. Harmony shrugged in a I-don't-care-either-way manner.

"Sure. If I'm going to be stuck here for the next week, might as well have some fun." Harmony said, shooting him her famous crooked smile she'd inherited from her father.

"That's the spirit!" Melody said with a laugh to her sister, before launching into another tale about her baby, in which everyone listened, almost as though they were ruptured by the tale. Everyone except Harmony and John of course. Inwardly, they both groaned.

"Here, let me help you." John said, stepping forward in the stables to give Harmony a hand onto the horse. Normally, the girl wouldn't have accepted it. But, the thing was, her horse was…tall, and, she wasn't so…

Grabbing Harmony by her waist, John found it odd how he felt that same rush of energy go through his veins again. And when he lifted her up in the air…he was amazed at how light she was. Once Harmony was situated on her saddle, John quickly swung his leg over his own and both of them were off.

_This is degrading. I can run faster than lightning, and you make me walk?! _

The voice inside of Harmony's head would have startled her, had it not been for the fact she knew who's voice it was. Brisinger or, Harmony's horse. He'd been a present from both her parents when she turned 15, or maybe it was a 'sorry we made this year hell for you' present. Either way, Harmony had wanted to call him something special like 'Zanzibar'. When she'd said the name aloud though, while petting her horse, the girl had been shocked when a suddenly infuriated voice came into her head saying 'My name is Brisinger!' She'd been shocked for a moment, before Brisinger, with his limited patience, had answered her thoughts by explaining that usually a person with special abilities, such as herself, usually had the ability to use their powers to communicate with a certain animal—and Brisinger, with all his hot temper, had been the animal.

"Fine. I'll give you two carrots once we're back at the stables if don't whine about it." Harmony's voice said with a sigh, listening to Brisinger mull this over in his mind for a minute. John nearly jumped off his horse, startled when he heard Harmony speak.

"Who are you talking to?" John inquired, leading Maybell—his horse—out of the palace gates. There was an old trail that Harmony would just love…well, she had to love.

"Brisinger." Harmony answered, but upon receiving a quizzical look, she tried explaining. "He's upset that I'm making him walk, instead of run." Harmony said with a small grin to John, who laughed.

"Well, your sense of humor hasn't gone away in three years." John said with a small laugh, before mentally slapping himself. Stupid! She'll think you're making fun of her if you say something like that! But, he was rewarded with a genuine smile from Harmony, so he kept on talking. "So…how's everything for you, I mean, now that your seventeen?"

"Everything is..." Harmony's genuine smile faded from her lips as she gave a despairing sigh. "Not as great as I thought it would be." John could hear the soft hopelessness behind her words...it crushed him.

"What do you mean?" John questioned, letting Maybell walk on as he looked at Harmony, who looked down at her saddle horn, which she was clutching tightly. Brisinger was silent for once, listening to Harmony and John's conversation.

"I got accepted into the college of my dreams in my other world—on a full soccer scholarship too." Harmony said slowly, letting each word trickle out. Behind her sentence, John could just hear her bitterness, behind her words.

"College? As in…university, correct?" John translated her words, as Harmony nodded. "That's wonderful then. Why would you be upset about that?"

_Because her parents are complete, and total incompetent fools, idiot!_

"Easy Bris." Harmony murmured softly to her horse, who grunted out loud in response. Sighing, the girl turned back to John, somehow knowing he wouldn't tell anyone this. "My parents are excited that I'm going to be finished with…my _schooling_…in my other world, after this year. They think I'm going to be Queen someday, so I have to start 'paying attention to matters of state'. Thing is, I don't think I want to be Queen…I mean…I don't think I'd be good at it. I'd rather be…a journalist. But…my parents would never approve of something like that for a _princess_." Harmony said with a hurt sigh, before trying to shake it off. That's why Harvey broke up with you, her mind said, because you talk too much about things boys don't care about.

Forcing a smile onto her face, Harmony swallowed down what was left of her feelings. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be boring you with my problems." Harmony's forced smile could have killed John. On instinct, he stopped Maybell, as Harmony stopped Brisinger too. John pressed his hand against Harmony's face gently, letting it run down her cheek. Harmony didn't even flinch as she felt his touch against her cheek…it felt…oddly…_nice_.

"Don't be sorry Harmony." John murmured, and Harmony felt herself almost swoon. The way his lips moved, the way he spoke her name…it was so…_enchanting_. John suddenly tore his hand away from Harmony's face, blushing a little as he snapped his reins for Maybell to go on. Harmony did the same for Brisinger.

_Harmony and Jo-ohn sitting in a field, F-U-C—_

"Shut up Bris! That will never happen!" Harmony cut off her horse, who started to cough—which was his way of laughing. Brisinger's almost golden coat gleamed in the sun, as he brown eyes, flecked with gold, rolled good naturedly at his mistress.

"What did he say?" John asked, almost wryly smiling at Harmony in a way that her heart almost stopped. Cut it out girl, her mind scolded. You've sworn off boys now, remember? Don't like him!

"Nothing." Harmony said quickly, blushing as Brisinger came up with another rhyme to describe Harmony and John together. "So…what about you? I mean, what's up since we were fourteen with you?" Harmony asked, wrapping her cloak around her tighter when a cold wind blew past her. She might rather be wearing jeans instead of a dress to ride, but one thing was for sure, a cloak really did feel nice in this freezing cold!

This time, it was John's turn to give a despairing sigh. "Ever since Lance got married to your *special* sister, _my_ parents have been pressuring _me_ to find someone. 'You're a prince Jonathan; it shouldn't be too hard to find a girl'. As if I wanted some stupid court broad who doesn't know a thing about me and only wants my title! I dream about someone who likes who I am, not someone who likes what I am!" John spat out venomously, before quickly regaining his posture and looking over at Harmony to see if she was freaked out by him. Apparently, she wasn't.

Harmony was giggling, covering her mouth with her hand as she tried to suppress the laughter that rippled underneath her giggles. It was impossible to stop it from coming up, and so, the girl started laughing, full on this time as she clutched at her stomach, which hurt her always bruised ribs to laugh.

"What's so funny?" John tried to be serious, but Harmony's laugh was infectious, and soon he was doubled over in laughter too. Brisinger stared at both his mistress and John with his eyes full of mischief. Suddenly, his started sprinting at full speed down the old trail, which sent Harmony flying backwards with an almost cliché-y déjà-vu-y CRACK!

* * *

**Sorry i didn't post this up last night. My mom was having a bad day, so she decided to take it out on me by ripping the laptop away from me and screaming that I can't be on it, for some reason. But whatever. She thinks she can hide it, and I find it so I really makes no sense. Anyway, review this chapter! I love Brisinger--like the book, yes--isn't he just made for Harmony? His defiant attitude, his eye rolls...it's like he WAS Harmony! And now that Harmony has a broken wrist....I wonder what she's going to do. Heal it in front of John using her powers, or actually put it in a cast? Hm....anyway, REVIEW!!!**


	8. Broken Wrists and Broken Hearts

"Harmony!" John was off Maybell in a second, and right at Harmony's side. The girl, looked…relatively calm. She wasn't crying, though her wrist looked like jelly, she was just gritting her teeth together in annoyance. "Your wrist! We have to get you back to the palace!" John said, tugging on Harmony's arm. The girl shrugged him off and shook her head as she looked up at him.

"I'm not going to be put in another month long cast because of Bris." She muttered under her breath, her eyes roaming the trail for her horse, who was easily trotting back to his Mistress with smugness written all over his face. "John? Can you get me that big book from my saddle bag?"

_Told you I wanted to run. _

"A book?! Harmony your wrist is like—like—boneless! You need medical attention!" John said, biting his lower lip in an oddly cute overprotectively concerned fashion. Harmony looked up at him with her best puppy dog eyes.

"Please? It will only take a minute for me to flip through it. I would get it myself, but my wrist…" And the fact of my catching-flying-books skill left something to be desired, Harmony thought on an off subject. John looked towards Bris who was doing a horsey (literally) smirk at him, and looked back at Harmony. He bit his lip further, torn between which one to do…but in the end, it was Harmony's puppy do eyes that won out. Obviously.

"Okay. I'll get it for you." John said with a sigh, standing up as he'd been kneeling next to Harmony, who didn't seem to be in much pain (she'd been through worse than this; she'd had an arrow through her and she hadn't so much as screamed!),

_Is he seriously thinking of touching me? _

John reached the horse in less than three strides, and immediately unclipped the saddle bag. Harmony muttered a few words under her breathe to her horse, which she knew he'd understand clearly. Too bad he didn't care. But Harmony, as always, was one step in front of him, and muttered a quick spell to keep the horses teeth _inside_ his mouth.

_This is ridiculous, the way you treat me. I wasn't going to hurt him…much. _

The book was in the saddle bag, like Harmony had said. It seemed…old. And somehow, oddly familiar to John. I reminded him, somehow, of being in a cave, laughing with…with…and that's where his mind drew a blank. Shaking off those thoughts, John went back to where Harmony was sitting in the snow and handed her the book—to her good hand, that is.

"Can you please tell me what you're doing?" John asked in a pleading, almost whiney tone as Harmony quickly flipped open the pages of her spell book. Ah, the familiar smell of the old pages immediately calmed her jumpy heart…for a second that is.

"You'll see." Harmony murmured with an enchanting smile to John, and mischief full in her eyes. "Okay, here it is! Um…John? You might want to stand back. I have a…small tendency of accidently…using too much of my powers into the spell." Harmony explained a little sheepishly.

_Small?! Last time you nearly set the whole forest on fire! _

"Spell? Powers? Harmony, what are you talking about?!" John wondered, his head swimming around in an attempt to remember. Fleeting glimpses of his past with Harmony came back to him—her kissing him, her as a mermaid, her turning him into a merman…wait, merman? What in the…?

"Just…watch." Harmony said with a sigh, her eyes flicking towards her good wrist. Holding her good hand above her now swollen wrist, Harmony winced as pain shot up her arm. Well, let's see if she could do this without killing herself. Muttering a few words under her breath, the girl watch with a wary face as a tiny ball of red light appeared over her broken wrist. The girl watched warily as the ball of light spread throughout her wrist, and with effort, the girl managed to stop the ball of light from going anywhere further than her arm. Flicking her wrist back and forth and feeling no more pain in the bone, she looked up…and almost winced again at John's expression.

He was…shocked. His eyes were bulging out of his skull. Surprise had lit all over his face as he stared open mouthed at Harmony. The girl sighed heavily, letting her shoulders drop as she felt all hope escape her…for good.

"Yes, I'm still a witch." Harmony said, another sad sigh coming off from her as she realized John hadn't stopped staring at her wrist in sheer amazement. "Why don't I make this easier, on the both of us? I'll fake sick for the rest of the vacation and stay in my room, and then you don't have to see me and it doesn't have to be all awkward." Harmony's sad sigh echoed again as she got up from the ground and gave John a half smile that practically said all.

"We should get back to the castle." John finally found his voice, and managed to speak. Harmony…of course…and what happened three years ago, all that business with Alec…wow.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Harmony said back, sighing as she put her spell book in her saddle bag and tried hard not to cry. And it was going so well, he was starting to like her as a friend…and then she went and screwed it up. Maybe it was some type of curse that omitted off of her, Harmony thought with a grimace to herself. The never-going-to-get-a-guy curse.

_I'm sorry._

"'S not your fault." Harmony managed to mutter out, as her eyesight started to go blurry. Don't cry Harm, her mind said. Don't lose it, don't cry, don't let him see you cry. It'll be okay. It will have to be. "Let's just go." Harmony's voice sounded so tiny, as though she was a child again. John didn't notice; he was to preoccupied with getting onto Maybell and thinking about Harmony as a witch. But Bris noticed, and the horse cringed at hearing how horrible his mistress was holding up.

_I'll fix this. I promise._

Harmony barked out a almost hysterical laugh at the sound of Brisinger's words. Fix? That was the one word Harmony had trouble believing in. If she couldn't even fix her own life, how on earth was her horse going to do it?

"Let's just go back Bris. I want to go to my room already." Harmony's voice was that high pitched quiet tone of someone holding back sobs. Brisinger cringed again at the tone, suddenly feeling immense guilt for running and making Harmony fly off, break her wrist, and then have to heal it in front of John.

Brisinger started to gallop out of the trail, with Harmony holding onto him tightly. Her face was set like stone, but underneath that, if you looked hard enough, you could see at any moment she was going to burst out into tears. Brisinger was silent, for once, not having anything to say because he knew this was his fault. He didn't even ask for his usual carrot when he trotted into his stable, and Harmony quickly slid off of him.

_If it makes you feel any better, I still love you. _

Such words from Brisinger were rare. Usually it was a swift kick to Harmony's shin that immediately took her from out of a bad mood to one of pure mock hatred towards her horse. But today was different. Today Harmony had her heart broken into little pieces…again.

"Thanks Bris." Harmony said, her eyes still blurry with tears, and her throat closed up on itself. Harmony patted his cheek for a moment, before letting her shoulders drop again and walking off to the palace.

Inside, she kept her head down and walked forward. No one paid her much attention, besides the usual gossipers who thought she had stone for ears and couldn't hear a damn word they were saying. But Harmony was used to that by now, so she ignored it as she went straight to her room.

When the girl was about a second away from opening the door, she heard voices floating down the hall. And she knew who's voices they were. Suddenly, she was filled with anger. Anger at them for making her go on this stupid ride. Anger for their annoying hints and shared looks. Just pure anger.

Walking down the hall, she slammed the door open, startling Ariel, Margaret, and Melody who were all laughing and drinking tea. When the door slammed though, they looked up at a almost in tears teenager who looked like she'd be glad to strangle all of them at the moment.

"Next time you have a freaking '_marvelous_ idea' about me, keep it to your damn self." Harmony stated, before turning on her heel and leaving the small sitting room. The girl opened the door to her own room, locked it with just a flick of her wrist, before jumping onto the bed, clutching her old teddy bear, and sobbing inaudibly into the pillow.

What a way to spend her winter vacation.

* * *

**If you haven't noticed it yet, the italicized words are Brisinger's thoughts, which is how he can communicate with Harmony. I actually cried while writing this chapter. I feel so bad for her...but don't worry, things have to turn good in order to turn bad...**

**REVIEW! The story, since I changed the rating from M to T is now up on the site, and not just on my profile so there is no reason for you to read and not review. Really. It was only rated M in the first place because of language, but I decided that i want it up on the site, so i'm cutting down on the cursing and sexual references. I promise. HA! My promises don't mean anything, haven't you realized that by now?**

**OOH! Guess what? This year, I'm actually having a b-day party! YAY! For the first time since i was like, turning seven! Though, it's like, three weeks from my actual b-day...but still! I would be hyped up about presents, but i know no one is going to get me presents. They'll probably just give me money and tell me in the card 'go buy yourself something shiny'. My cake is going to be...little mermaid! That's the best part. My friends find it hilarious that i'm so obessed with TLM, but who cares, cuz aren't we all obessed with something? LIke, we just can't get enough of that one thing, no matter how many times you look at it, or watch it? **

**Ugh. This computer is being annoying. The wi fi has been going on and off all night. It's really started to piss me off. Like, now, it's off. Just wiating a minute and it'll be back on...and then off, just cuz my room just so happens to be the FARTHEST room from the router. Of course it is. Ugh, I better go fix this stupid wi fi. **

**Byes for now! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	9. Climb Down Yonder Trellis, Bright Angel

"Harmony? Sweetheart, are you still awake?" Ariel's soft voice called into the room Harmony was occupying in the Westland palace. It only took the worried mother about a minute to pick the lock on her daughter's door. She would have done it earlier, but she wanted to give Harmony as much time as possible to be alone. But now, it was going to be dinner, and the girl had to eat.

"Awake and miserable." A tiny voice said from under the covers and the face hidden into the pillows. Ariel sat on the side of the bed with her feet dangling down, as she turned to her daughter and gently stroked her hair.

"And why's that, my little tune?" Ariel asked, using her special name for her daughter while still stroking the girl's red hair. After waiting a few minutes, Ariel realized there would be no answer to her question—at least not now. "Alright then, I understand if you don't want to talk to me about what's wrong." No, Ariel didn't understand, but it seemed like the right thing to say to her daughter. "But, it's dinner time and you need to eat. Come downstairs, if only for a little bit, and then you can come back up and stay here all night long." Ariel's gentle voice was almost soothing, as she stroked Harmony's long hair and waited for a reply.

"H-He's going to be there. No thanks." Harmony's voice cracked, as she buried her face further into the pillows and tried not to cry anymore. Ariel murmured something that the girl didn't catch, before there was a soft sigh coming off her mother.

"Alright honey. I understand." And Ariel did. Somehow, the girl had gotten hurt by that boy, and now she was too heartbroken to go downstairs and see him again. But, this wasn't going to last all vacation. Ariel would drag her daughter downstairs if she had to, but Harmony wasn't going to stay up in her room for the next week during meal times just because John would also be there.

John decided to skip dinner, which he knew would tick off his parents—and not to mention his brother. Lance had this thing about his younger brother's 'social skills' and the repeated embarrassment it brought to him. Not that John gave a damn; actually, he quite enjoyed making his brother groan and knock his head against a wall.

The boy looked out his window and at the starry night…and sighed when the day's events played back in his mind. He should have talked to Harmony about her powers, not just stared at her as though she'd grown an extra eye. But he hadn't seen her use her powers since he was fourteen and memories dim after awhile…only to be brought back in full force when some part of that memory happens again. And now, according to his mother, Harmony had locked herself up in her room and was crying her 'poor little eyes out' because he hadn't had a chance to explain why he was shocked. It wasn't because he thought she was a freak, or he was scared of her—he still remembered when she used her powers to get Alec and his goons to stop beating on him—he was just…a bit surprised, that's all. But she'd sped off on her horse before he had a chance to explain! If only he could talk to her, just for a minute, then she'd understand. But, how could he talk to her if she was locked up in her room…ah! A brilliant, and also risky, idea formed in his mind as John grinned widely in the darkness of his room.

"I swear it's the no-guy-will-ever-like-me curse come to haunt me again." Harmony sighed, looking down at the small stuffed bear in her arms. The stuffed creature didn't so much as bat an eye, but Harmony knew he was listening, though in truth he wasn't real. She was getting hungry…it was nearly ten at night and the last thing she'd had to eat was breakfast—which had consisted of a piece of toast. Her stomach growled angrily at her for skipping two meals.

Sighing, Harmony got up from the bed and quickly got dressed. She'd only go down for a minute, she summarized. It shouldn't be too hard to find the kitchen, and she'd just grab a piece of bread, stuff it into her mouth, and then be gone. Easy as pie.

Harmony was about to open her door…when she heard an odd noise. It sounded almost like…someone…throwing pebbles? But…no, that was impossible! No one would be throwing pebbles at her window! That was just an old movie cliché, it didn't happen in real life. Still…the sound continued…and Harmony, being who she is, went to go investigate.

Slowly, she cautiously opened up her window, and let herself lean outside. Her room here didn't have a balcony, like the one back at home. But, that was alright. If not for the height, Harmony would have marvled at how having only one window reminded her of her once Nebraskan room.

"What light, from yonder window break, it is the east, and Harmony, the sun!" John wolfishly grinned in the dark, holding up a lantern to his face so that Harmony could see him. Her red hair was spilled over her shoulders as a warm light from her room made her look as though she was glowing.

Harmony raised her brows at the Shakespeare quote, but said nothing as she crossed her arms over her chest. John looked almost magical in the night, with only his face lighted up by a lantern, the girl's mind noted on an off note.

"That's not a very good pick up line." Harmony noted her blue eyes dark as she stared at John, whose grin only got wider.

"She speaks; O, speak again, bright angel, and come down yonder trellis so that I may speak with thee!" John quoted, his grin only getting wider as Harmony raised her brows and tried to hide her own smile.

"I don't recall Shakespeare ever saying anything about Juliet coming down a trellis so Romeo could speak to her." Harmony noted, her red locks gently swaying in the winter night air.

"Whoever said Shakespeare could get all the credit for writing that story?" John answered her words with a question, as a mischievious grin worked on his lips as he looked up at Harmony. "If it pleases thy heart, angel, will thou not come down and forgive my misdeeds against her, and perchance follow me to a wondrous place of nighttime wonder?" John quoted his own words then, but still looked up at Harmony with those brown eyes that made her want to sigh.

What did she have to lose, the girl wondered in her mind. If worse came to worse, she could always come back to her room in a few seconds and stay there the rest of vacation. Besides, he wanted to be forgiven. And what was he talking about, nighttime wonder…? Well, only one way to find out.

With a heart that was racing in…in pure joy, Harmony leaned out her window and caught the trellis between her fingers


	10. Daddy Doesn't Want His Daughter to Leave

"This is so much easier in movies!" Harmony muttered under her breath as another stupid thorn pierced her flesh. Climbing down a trellis that was intertwined with red roses, Harmony now new was not the greatest idea. Technically, she could just float down, but the idea hadn't occurred her to do so until she was literally ten feet from the ground, and far enough to jump. Sometimes, the girl swore mentally.

Jumping down with an barely audible thump, Harmony straightened up as she saw John maneuvering his way towards her. It almost hurt her how much her heart beat fast at just the mention of his name, and the picture of his face.

"You look…good." John struggled to get the words out of his throat as he held the latern up to Harmony's face. Her eyes were just barely puffy, a clear sign she'd been crying. And yet…good was so _average_. Harmony looked amazing, in a sky blue dress that seemed to accent her already huge blue eyes.

When John wasn't able to come up with anything beside's good, Harmony felt her heart sink. He only wanted to look at her because she was pretty. The girl turned on her heel to leave, but stopped when her hand was suddenly grapsed into another warm one's. John's.

"Wait! Don't go!" John said, in a desperate attempt to get Harmony to stay with him, if only for a minute more. He felt it again, when his hand was touching hers…and staying there. That odd feeling of…excitement. And not the kind in his pants…it was a different type that ran through his veins, that almost shocked him. Harmony had turned around by now, and she too was marveling at how it seemed electricity was running through her veins. "What happened this morning…" John gave a sigh, as he started over again, feeling like a total, and complete, ass. "This morning, when we were on the ride, and your horse started to run and you fell off and broke your wrist and then healed it right in front of me…I was just surprised. I mean, I haven't seen you since we were fourteen…could you blame me? And then…you just bolted. And you looked like you were going to cry. I felt…so awful when I heard you weren't coming out of your room…I never meant to hurt you. I promise. I…I just was a little surprised, that's all, but I'm okay with it right now. I mean, you have powers…I understand that it must feel weird for you to have to deal with them and your family, and then I was just making things worse. Could you…forgive me for being an incompetent fool? Please?" John realized he was rambling by the end of his explanation. But how could he not? Harmony was…beautiful. She was like…something out of a story book. How could he not ramble in front of her?

"I…I…" Harmony was at a loss for words. She wanted to forgive him, she knew that…but it was so…shocking to find someone who was actually…not judging. It was…strange to have someone tell her they understood that it was weird for her and her family, and that they weren't making it better. She almost cried when she realized how wonderful that sounded.

"What is she doing?!" Eric snarled to himself, staring downwards with a penetrating glare at the top of Harmony's head…and to John's head to. He was out on the balcony, surveying the whole scene of Harmony climbing down a trellis, and meeting John and now talking to him. Had they planned this?! What was she doing alone with a boy?!

"Eric what on earth do you hope to accomplish by spying on our daughter? She's seventeen, let her have some privacy." Ariel said, tugging on her husband's arm to get him to stop staring at their daughter. Harmony was young, in love, she was doing what all girl's did at this age.

"How can you be so calm Ariel?! She's seventeen! What if they go into the woods! Or-or what if he decides to touch her! That's it, I'm going down there!" Eric made up his mind, panicked at the thought of his seventeen year old daughter alone with boys. But as he turned around to go back into the room he shared with his wife, he found that she was standing in the middle of the opening windows, blocking his entrance inside.

"You will do no such thing." Ariel warned, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down her husband. "I want my baby to have a chance at a normal life with the man she loves, and that won't be able to happen if her father intervenes at every moment!" Ariel exploded, her voice a deadly calm, but her eyes raging like the sea itself.

"What do you mean by 'the man she loves'?" Eric drawled out slowly, his blue eyes searching his wife's for any clue. Ariel's eyes went wide and her hand slapped over her mouth, before she quickly ran into their room, refusing to look at her husband and tell him that Harmony and John loved each other. "Ariel?!" Eric called out, walking into his room, and quickly shutting the balcony doors behind him. He could hear faintly from the pillow Ariel had buried her face in…that she was giggling?! What on earth?!

"You're not telling me something. Something big." Eric guessed by the way she was laughing; sliding into his side of the bed, his eyes took in his still giggling wife. Ariel was acting like a child but she couldn't help it. It was so obvious, and he missed it! How on earth could he miss it! Sniffling and trying to reign back her laughter, Ariel sat up in the bed to see her husband. She couldn't meet his eyes for fear she'd break out into laughter again.

"Alright, I think you deserve to know." Ariel said, sniffling and wiping off a tear that had formed from laughing so much. "Harmony and John are slowly falling in love! Oh isn't sweet? And the best part, they don't even know it yet! Oh I'm so happy! It's finally happened to my baby! She's finally in love!" Ariel said with a carefree laugh, collapsing backwards on the pillows and spreading her arms out happily.

"What?!"

"John, Margaret and Leroy's son, Lance's brother, Melody's brother in law, and Harmony, our wild daughter, are in love with each other!" Ariel specified a smile of pure glee on her lips.

"Ar-are you sure?! I mean…she hasn't been acting any differently…and besides, today she was locked up in her room because of what he did to her." Eric was desperate to find some hole in the story of John and Harmony in love.

"Oh that." Ariel said, dismissively waving a hand. "It was just a little misunderstanding; they'll have worked it out by now. But they're in love, I know that for a fact. So if you see a ring on Harmony's left hand by the end of the week, don't be surprised." Ariel warned, with a cheerful smile on her features though Eric's eyes went wide with shock.

"So you mean…Harmony...is going to actually get _married_?!" Eric's bewildered voice asked, as Ariel nodded happily with a beaming smile. "And what if I don't allow it? She's only seventeen Ariel; I thought we agreed that she could get married at eighteen." There, that should by him some time. Eric wasn't ready to lose another daughter just yet.

"Eric, with everything that's happened in her life…it might be good for her to get married a little ahead of schedule." Ariel said seriously, her lips puckered out as she thought of this. "I know you don't want to lose another one of our girls Eric, but just think of how happy, and I mean really happy, Harmony would be if we embraced the idea of her getting married a bit earlier than what we had planned." Ariel's blue eyes gave her husband's the best puppy dog pout that there ever was, and she knew that he wouldn't be able to refuse her idea with this pout.

"Why do you always use that look on me?" Eric groaned, hiding his face in his hands as Ariel laughed. "You know it's impossible to resist." Ariel laughed again as she broke off her pout and quickly snuffed out the candle that was keeping the room alighted. "I can't say I'm fond of the idea Ariel, but if it keeps Harmony happy…then I guess I can deal with it." Eric sighed heavily, as Ariel squealed in delight.

"Thank you!" Ariel squealed, leaning over to kiss her husband happily. Though, the thought of where Harmony was at this time at night with a boy still haunted her….


	11. A Snowy Kiss

"Where are we going?" Harmony whispered, rubbing her cold arms in an effort to keep warm. She should have gotten her cloak when she snuck out, her mind cursed, as another cold wind was blown straight at her.

"Just follow me." John said mysteriously, checking back once more to make sure Harmony was alright. The girl seemed to be okay with walking through the woods—John knew that any other girl would have screamed bloody murder by now at some random shadow they saw moving and they'd think it was a mountain lion. "You walk in the woods as though it's no big deal. I mean, most girls in your position would have runaway by now…and you don't really seem to care. How do you do that?" John noted, before almost slapping himself on the forehead. What an idiot! He sounded like a complete jackass, comparing those girls to Harmony. And yet, he was rewarded with a small smile from the girl.

"From years and years of carving trails into the mud with my hand-me-down bike, or playing Kingdom with my brother." A nostalgic smile was on Harmony's lips, as her eyes were closed and she took in a deep breath. She almost felt like a child again, with her new—well, new to her anyway—bike in the woods. Playing hide and go seek in the trees, or dueling terrifying creatures with magical swords, her imagination going far and beyond the norm…

"I didn't know you had a brother." John commented, a slight frown working its way onto his face. "I thought Melody was your biological twin sister." John almost slapped his forehead again. Of course she was her biological twin sister! What was he thinking, talking like this!

"I was raised in another world, remember?" When John nodded, Harmony slowly went on, making sure she put one foot in front of the other and didn't trip. "In that world, I had an adopted family, which included my brother who was two years older than me. In order to keep up with him, I had to be unafraid of the woods." Why Harmony was telling a boy she barely knew all this, she didn't know. But somehow…somehow it just felt right, telling him all of this. Like, he would understand where she was coming from.

"Do you two still play in the woods then?" John teased Harmony, not noticing, for a moment, how her blue eyes got dark and her lips twitched into a almost tearful frown.

"I wish." Harmony gave an off laugh, one of pain actually that John immediately picked up on. "He died three years ago, when he was only sixteen. On Valentine's day, to boot." Harmony felt her eyes already tearing up at the thought of it. Her throat was starting to close, her eyes becoming wet with tears…

"Oh. I'm so sorry." John apologized quickly, biting his lip as his forehead crinkled and his heart felt like it was dropping in his chest from the way Harmony's eyes had teared up.

"Don't be." Harmony said with a dismissive wave, while brushing off her tears with the back of her arm. "It wasn't your fault he fell in lo—it wasn't your fault." Harmony couldn't bring herself to say what had killed her brother. Somehow, just saying the words aloud made everything much, much, much worse.

"Do you want to talk about it?" John asked quietly, stopping for a moment before pushing back some underbrush out of Harmony's way so that the girl could move more easily. She shook her head once; making a sniffling noise and wincing at the thought of talking about her dead brother. John decided to leave it at that.

"Here we are." John's voice said, a bit too upbeat and cheery as though he was trying to make Harmony feel better and forget about her problems. It didn't really work, but it did manage to get Harmony smiling a tiny wan smile to John. Finally, someone who wouldn't press and just leave things as they were.

The girl turned slightly to look at…at what? In the moonlight, she could see an old gazebo that had once been painted white. In the spring, it must be amazingly beautiful covered in vines and with flowers all over it, Harmony summarized. But now, in the winter, it was covered with white snow that seemed to be falling slowly now from the sky. Bare trees crossed over the gazebo, their branches collecting snow which then fell onto the roof of the tiny rest house. Harmony took in a deep breathe at the sight of it. Somehow…in all it's simpleness…it was beautiful.

"John…it's like…like…" Harmony wasn't able to say the words to describe it. It was different than the palace lived in…it had a more quaint feel to it that reminded Harmony, distantly, of her childhood.

"There's a bench inside of it, if you want to sit." John said, before he almost slapped himself across the face again. Seriously, he couldn't come up with anything better than that?! He was in the presence of Harmony, self assured, fun-loving _Harmony_, and he could only say there was a bench inside of it?!

Harmony numbly nodded, before blushing slightly as John took her hand and started to lead her up the two or three steps and into the gazebo. Her heart beat fast at his electric touch, and all she wanted to do was lean in and kiss him right there, in the middle of the forest.

When Harmony sat on the bench, John next to her, both of them stayed in a contented silence. They both were thinking about each other, but were somehow suddenly too shy to say what was really on their minds. A cold wind blew through the gazebo, making Harmony shiver and subconsciously rub her cold arms where the wind had touched through the thin fabric.

"Your cold." John realized, noticing Harmony shiver.

"It's nothing." Harmony said, stealing a look at John, before quickly hiding her now blushing face behind a curtain of her red hair. "I'm fine, really."

"You're cold though." Well if she's shivering than she's obviously cold, idiot. "Here, this should keep you warm." John unclasped his cloak quickly, before gently setting it around Harmony's shoulders. In the dim lantern and moonlight, he could see her half smile, her thank you to him.

"This is a nice place." Harmony offered, as a way to start up a conversation. "I bet most of the girls you take here must have a rough time getting through the forest." Harmony blushed slightly at the thought of John probably kissing other girl's here, in this gazebo.

"Actually, you're the first person—let alone girl—I take here." John answered honestly, his foot messing around with the snow. Harmony made a sound, but said nothing in reply, because honestly, she had no clue whether she could believe it or not.

Maybe it was the moonlight, maybe it was the fact looking at John made her heart beat fast, maybe it was because she wasn't thinking to clearly besides Omfg-he's-looking-right-at-me! Maybe it was the fact that this was, in an odd way, romantic. Whatever the case though, Harmony suddenly found herself leaning in towards John, with her lips slowly starting to reach his. And then, suddenly, she found herself in the caught up in the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her.

She was kissing John.

It was hard to explain the moment of ecstasy. It was different from the way she'd kissed other boys…there was just something…something in the back of her mind that made her want to stay there, locked in a kiss with him forever. It was like…like everything she'd ever dreamed of was in that kiss. Her lost hopes, her lost dreams, all of it just came back from the one full minute of lips locking. But even witches need oxygen.

"Wow…that…was…wow." John panted, trying to catch his breath again, though he was having a hard time doing so. Harmony…that kiss just seemed…so magical…so…amazing, extraordinary, wonderful, great….those words didn't even begin to describe how it was.

"Yeah…I know." Harmony said, her breath starting to go back to normal slowly, though her heart pumped at ninety miles per hour. Just the thought of John in her mind, in passing, right now, was enough to make her lips tingle with excitement, and her heart to feel as though it was going to burst out of her chest.

"We should…probably get back. It's late." John said quickly, his breath fully caught up now as he got up off the bench. He lent out a hand to Harmony, because he was a gentleman, but the girl only ignored it and got up on her own. A small grin played up on the corners of John's mouth at that, but he spoke not a word about it aloud.

"They both walked back to the palace in contented silence once again. They were both too wrapped up in their thoughts to do much else other than be silent, and blush slightly when they realized they were looking at one another. Finally, after what seemed like ages though it was really only minutes, they both were by the trellis that lead up to Harmony's window.

"Mom is going to _kill _me if she finds out I got all cut up from those damn roses." Harmony said finally, almost wincing as she looked up at the trellis. If life was so fair, then why did roses have thorns? It really was a stupid concept.

"Roses are beautiful to look at, but painful if you aren't careful around them." John stated, almost musing in his mind how that was the perfect metaphor to describe Harmony.

"True that, true that." Harmony said with a sigh, looking up at the trellis with a grimace before turning to John. Carefully, she unclasped his cloak from around her, and handed it back to him, blushing almost. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for…for the good night." Harmony was blushing crimson, but she still stood up on her tiptoes and caught John's lips in a surprise goodnight kiss. When Harmony finally broke off from the kiss, and John's eyes finally opened, he was amazed to see that she was already inside her room, leaning against the wall with a tiny smile to him, before shutting the window.

* * *

**Promise i'll review everything tomorrow. i'm so tired from soccer tonight that I don't think i can stay up much longer. Review this chapter, i'll review all stories tomorrow morning. :O**


	12. Mothers Know Best

"Ow! Damn it! That was my foot!" Harmony's voice yelled, as she stumbled over the carpet in her room. Ariel's tinkling laugh could be heard as she grinned widely at her now fully awake daughter.

"Try and be more careful next time honey." Ariel's voice gently chided, extending a hand to help her daughter steady up on her feet. "What's this?" Ariel's voice suddenly questioned, her amusement replaced by confusion as she took one of her daughter's hands in her own and studied it carefully. All over Harmony's hand were scratches, fresh from the night before. Harmony pulled her hand away from her mother, yawning as she blearily went to chest of drawers and pulled out some random clothes.

"You know, we saw you sneaking out last night. Your father was extremely….angry when he saw you sneaking out to go off to the woods with John." Ariel said in a calm voice, her eyes focusing in on Harmony's head, which poked out from behind the screen. "Poseidon knows what would have happened if I hadn't stopped him from going outside to drag you inside." Ariel said, shaking her head and sighing to herself at the thought of what Eric would've done. Ever since what happened to Melody…well, you couldn't really blame him for wanting to drag Harmony away from John.

"Hmph." Was all Harmony replied, a tired yawn emitting from her mouth as she slipped off her short shorts and pulled on the stupid bloomers instead. No matter how much begging and pleading she'd done, all Ariel had let her bring of what she called 'inappropriate clothes for a young lady' was an old soccer shirt with the cut off collar so that it fell off her shoulder, and one pair of short shorts, on the condition Harmony would only be sleeping in it, and nothing more. It was really a stupid thing, but Ariel was insistent, and though she was a witch, it was still _impossible _to get around her mother.

"What did you two do in the woods?" Ariel asked, hiding the knowing smile that was trying to work onto her features. They couldn't have possibly done anything inappropriate—other than kiss, that is. Harmony wasn't that easy to talk into doing things, and even if she had done anything, she'd be on cloud nine by now.

"Just…talked." Harmony's voice said from behind the screen, a bit muffled as she pulled on her camisole over her. Half her mind was reeling from the kiss last night—both of them—and the other half was wondering what on earth this strange feeling was. Not one part of her mind even considered being punished.

"Really?" Ariel said in a surprised voice. She'd thought that they would have kissed…or at least done something other than just talk. Then again, this was Harmony. The girl was probably too scared to do anything more than take it slow.

"Yeah." Harmony answered, subconsciously putting two fingers over her lips and trying to find out where the tingling started. Shaking it off after a moment though, the girl tried pulling her dress over her without getting tangled up in the strings that laced up the back. Unfortunately, such a task for the girl was impossible, thanks to her klutz-ness. "Help…please…choking…" Harmony stepped out from behind the screen, her face in a grimace as the one of the laces had managed to wrap around her neck and was now choking her. Not enough to kill her, but just enough for Harmony's lungs to complain in a painful manner about the lack of air.

Ariel's amused laugh came before she could stifle it. In only a matter of moments, she had the dress properly laced up in the back, and had Harmony breathing normally again. Half dragging the complaining girl to the vanity, she forced her to sit while Ariel started to try and tame her red locks.

Ariel hummed softly to herself as she brushed out Harmony's red hair, slowly so she didn't hurt the girl. Harmony was lost in her own thoughts, reminiscing about the night before. Suddenly, her head popped up and looked in the mirror, a question in her eyes as she looked at her mother, through the mirror.

"Mom?" Harmony wondered, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as a almost confused expression overtook her face.

"Mhm?" Ariel made a sound to show that she was listening, as she still brushed out Harmony's red locks, making sure that not one knot had hidden itself inside her hair.

"How did…you know you were in love…with Dad? I mean…what did it _feel_ like?" Harmony questioned slowly, trying to get her thoughts in order so her mother knew what she meant. Ariel looked in the mirror at her daughter's questioning blue eyes, and smiled a warm smile to the girl.

"It felt…It _feels _actually, like the best thing in the world. Like your floating on a cloud, far above the earth. Like…you're soaring through rainbows, and your heart is as weightless as a feather…that doesn't even begin to cover half of it, but it's the best I can think of." Ariel said with a laugh to herself, resuming brushing her daughter's hair, before stopping once again, and looking back up. "Why?" Ariel questioned an eyebrow quirked upwards. Harmony felt her face grow hot as she suddenly hid it from her mother so the woman wouldn't see her red cheeks.

"Just wonderin'." Harmony's muffled voice said, hiding her face into her arms as though she was still in elementary and the teacher had told the class to put their heads down. It didn't accomplish anything, but it was sure as hell better than looking up.

"Mhm hm. Of _course_ you are." Ariel said, not bothering to hide the knowing in her voice and the smile that worked its way onto her lips. "Just make sure your wondering doesn't make you sneak out at all hours, alright? I'll let it slide this time, but I really don't like you sneaking out." Ariel said, a frown going on her face as she thought of it.

"Yeah…sure." Harmony said slowly, her fingers touching her lips again subconsciously, not realizing that Ariel was watching her with a knowing smile. What would breakfast hold, Harmony wondered. John would be there…just the thought of his name made her heart beat fast. Wait…ohmygod, was she in _**love**_?!


	13. A Sadistic Pleasure in Making Melody Cry

"How did you sleep Harmony?" Melody wondered politely to her twin. That's all breakfast was, full of politeness and nice conversation. It was all really annoying to Harmony, who'd grown up eating her meals next to the TV while fighting with her brother during commercials for control of the remote.

"How do you think?" Harmony hissed, her tongue almost forked. She was in a bad mood, obviously. Mainly because she was trying to fight that stupid feeling inside of her and make sure she wasn't in love. That's what killed Ryan. Love. She wouldn't be a victim to it too. "I dreamed about cute little bunnies and sweet rainbow unicorns that live in the gumdrop forest of dreams." Harmony said in an overly sweet voice. A stern look was shot at her from both her parents, who'd overheard her 'dream'.

"Really?" Melody asked with a smile, her face alight with cheerfulness at the thought of Harmony now having good dreams instead of awful ones. Harmony looked at her sister for a moment, speechless and staring at her sister with disbelief.

"Seriously Mel, were you ever…I don't know, "accidently" dropped on your head as a baby?" Harmony would have sworn that was her saying it, if she hadn't realized the voice was much deeper than her own. Turning to her left a fraction of an inch, she felt the corners of her lips twitch into a smile as she saw who'd said that line.

"So it's not just me, you see it too, right?" Harmony asked, pointing a thumb in the direction of Melody who looked truly outraged at the fact she was being made fun of, and had no idea what it was about.

"Jonathan." Margaret and Leroy's voice both said the name of their son, a calm anger inside their words. Amazingly, they said the name of their son at the same time as Ariel and Eric said the name of their oldest daughter.

"You two are so mean." Melody said, her eyes actually tearing up at the thought of John and Harmony making fun of her in a way she had no way to understand. "Excuse me." Melody said, a tear actually falling down her cheek as she threw her napkin down at the table, pushed her chair out, and would have run from the table, had it not been for the giant stomach that only let her wobble.

"Mel!" Lance called, throwing his napkin down too as he went after his very pregnant, and hormonal wife. He was going to murder John for making his wife cry—again—Lance swore under his breath.

That left Harmony and John sitting next to each other and looking down at the tablecloth so they didn't burst out laughing, while both their parents had murder in their eyes for both of them. By chance, Harmony and John caught each other's eye, and started laughing uncontrollably, both of them clutching their stomachs from laughing so hard.

"Harmony that's enough!" Ariel's sharp voice said, at the same time as Leroy's 'Jonathan stop laughing!'. Both teenagers immediately sat up straight, knowing those tones anywhere.

"Jonathan, do you get some sort of sadistic pleasure out of making Melody cry?" Margaret's angry voice said, her lip curled back and her eyes flashing.

"Oh please." Harmony said with a snort, answering for John. "Mel is just another teenage bimbo who got knocked up at sixteen and who has shit for a brain. I mean, you can tease her and laugh when she starts to cry, but you can't really get a sadistic pleasure out of it." Harmony said thoughtfully, knowing she was entering deep, dark, hot water, but not giving a rat's ass.

"Harmony Althea Benson I swear one more word from you and—" Eric would have finished his sentence, had it not been for John snorting and throwing his own napkin down on the table.

"Screw this." John snorted, pushing his chair out, before extending a hand to Harmony. "Come on, this is stupid." All four parents looked stunned at the sudden outburst from John. Ariel had an almost pleading look in her eyes for Harmony to reconsider doing something reckless and stupid, and to just go to Melody and apologize.

"I totally agree." Harmony said with a wicked smile directly at her mother, before grabbing John's hand and disappearing from the dining room.


	14. Love in the form of Sledding & Crashing

"Ah! Total freedom!" Harmony laughed, stretching her arms out as she fell onto the snowy ground with another laugh. This morning hadn't gone as she'd planned, but hey, just go with the flow. The girl knew the moment she got back to the palace she'd be grounded until the stars stopped shining in the twilight sky, but who cared when you were a teenage witch? Sure, her parents could strap her down to her bed, but in the end, but a simple snap of her fingers, she'd be gone. The thought of it made her laugh again.

Suddenly, a slushy object was hit her face directly. Sitting up in bewilderment, Harmony saw the snow falling off of her face, and looked up to see a laughing John. Well, she'd show him something to laugh about. Grabbing a handful of snow and quickly making it into an awkward ball, Harmony threw it straight at the boy's face. Now it was John's turn to be bewildered as Harmony laughed.

"That's it, now you're going to get it!" John laughed, scooping up plenty of snow in his hands and throwing it back at Harmony, who ducked just in time and watched as it hit the tree. Sticking her tongue out, and putting her thumbs to the side of her head with all her fingers sticking out Harmony's started.

"Missed me, missed me, na-na-na-na missed me!" Harmony laughed as another snowball was thrown at her, this one actually making its target. Scooping up a handful of snow, Harmony threw it with all her might at John, not bothering to try and make it into a ball. But John, suddenly, was nowhere in sight. Harmony's brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of this. Where was he…?

"Got you!" John laughed, grabbing Harmony by her waist from behind her. She shrieked—in shock, but also playful—as she laughed also and tried to get away from John.

"That's cheating! Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" Harmony shrieked out with a laugh, but John still didn't relinquish her waist. And strangely, both teenagers were alright with that.

"It's not cheating." John disagreed, grinning. "It's adjusting the odds in my favor."

"But that's not cheating _whatsoever_, right?" Harmony said sarcastically, and almost fell over in relief when John laughed out loud. Finally, someone (beside's Emma) who got her sarcasm, and actually laughed when she offered it up. It kind of made her feel…well, _good_.

"Not one bit." John agreed a full smile out on his face. Odd, Harmony thought to herself as a side note, she'd never noticed who his hair fell in just that way across his forehead, and how his warm brown eyes danced in happiness. "I'm pretty sure there's an old sled here—Lance and I buried it when we were younger. We could go sledding, if you want. But, yeah, I guess that's pretty childish, and we're too old for such things. I mean…" John was cut off my Harmony's skeptical expression to his babbling tongue.

"I'm only seventeen. Technically, I've still got a few months until I'm "officially" an adult, and can stop doing kid stuff." Harmony snapped her fingers with a grin, and suddenly a bright red sleigh appeared right next to Harmony's feet. If one looked close enough, they could see where Lance and John had carved their names into the sled, claiming it was there's and no one but them should touch it. Though, since it was half John's, he should be allowed to let a certain girl use it.

"C'mon already slowpoke!" Harmony's laugh echoed through the forest as she was already on top of an average sized hill that would be great for sledding. If John looked carefully enough though, he could see that there were no footprints in the snow leading up to the hill.

"Be careful, you might make Melody cry if she hears you calling her names." John laughed, easily walking to get up to hill, as confusion clouded over Harmony's face for a moment. That's when the joke finally made sense to her. The girl doubled over in pure laughter.

"You're…so mean!" Harmony laughed out, on her knees laughing. It really wasn't that funny, she knew somewhere in the back of her mind. But anything out of John's lips that was a joke, to her, was the funniest thing ever said.

"I call 'em as I see 'em." John said with a smile and a shrug, setting the red sled on top of the hill perfectly. When Harmony noticed this, her face lit up like the fourth of July.

"Dibs on first ride!" The girl shrieked out, not waiting for John to push her down the hill as she just jumped on top of the sled and went down on her own. She hadn't done this since she was thirteen, Harmony realized as she was speeding down the hill. Not since she'd found out about Ariel and Eric had she ever gone sledding again…hm, she wondered why. It was so much fun! The swooshing of cold air, the laughs, the—CRASH!

Of course, since it was _Harmony_ on the sled, it just so happened that it had to crash into a tree. Of course. The sled was a little off to the side, as the girl lay in a pile of snow, a bit dizzy from how all that had played out.

"Harmony! Are you alright?" John's anxious voice asked his fingers brushing snow off of the girl and helping her sit up. He didn't quite understand why he felt so…protective of her. Like, when she crashed. He didn't understand why he'd suddenly had a dreadful feeling on the bottom of his stomach.

Slowly, Harmony's eyes reopened, and she sucked in a breath. Well now, that wasn't planned. Still, she managed a grin towards John, her eyes looking into his and almost collapsing back onto the snow in amazement. Well, she wasn't skiing, but this was definitely a cute boy who was holding her up.

"Let's do that again!" The girl said energetically, managing to sit up on her own and shaking off the dizziness from her head so that she could smile almost magically at John. Her heart was pumping in a million miles, and so was John's, as they both smiled at each other.

In all his life, John mused, he'd gotten used to these court girls. The one's who complained about being too fat, when they were really too skinny. The one's that wrinkled their pert little noses at the thought of actually going sledding, and getting snow on their dresses. The one's that were always so prim, so proper, so refined. He'd thought that's all there was to girls—considering Melody was one of them—until he'd met Harmony.

The girl was something totally different. She was sarcastic, and spoke her mind. She still had snowball fights without thinking they were too immature, she wanted to sled down a hill even after she'd crashed. It was almost amazing to see how she laughed at things John knew no other girl would laugh at. She liked to read too, and-and-it was just something he'd never experienced in his life before. It was totally new, incompressible…and yet, as always, it was the cliché moment in the story.

He was in love with Harmony.

* * *

**Aw how cute! XD Cliche, but really cute, isn't it? **

**So...this is three chapters, all in one night! HAH! I win! So be happy reviewers, and please, REVIEW! **

**Guess what? I found the christmas presents! I swear, I wasn't looking for them! Honest, I wasn't! My dad sent me to the garage to find that old box of video's so that he could transfer them from videos and into DVD's, since VHS is no longer made. So anyway, the box was on the very top, so I had to use the step ladder. ANd to get to the box, I had to take down a few bags that were ontop of the box, and they were CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. ONe of them wasn't wrapped up, and guess what it was? A LAPTOP FOR ME! How do I know it's for me? WEll, that's a very good question. Remind me to send my new ninja assasins after you for ruining my happy mood. I'm getting a laptop, for Christmas, woot woot, yes! Finally, my own laptop *starts to dream* **

**Hmm...well, it's 1:20 here in miami, that would be 1:20 AM. My mom and dad really shouldn't fall asleep and then still expect me to turn in the computer at 10:30. It's unreasonable to believe i would do such a good thing. :D**

**anyway, review! **


	15. A Lunch of Flirting and Realization's

"Aren't you going to say something to your sister, _Harmony_?" Ariel questioned at lunch, though it was more of a tell-Melody-your-sorry-or-else kind of question, not the actual wondering kind.

"You too Jonathan." Leroy's voice said, the full force of you'll-be-grounded-for-two-weeks-if-you-don't-apologize behind his sentence. Both Harmony and John looked at each other for a moment, trying hard not to laugh. After a few deep breaths, Harmony managed to look up at Melody who seemed…expectant. Like she was getting some sort of sick pleasure out of Harmony having to apologize.

"Sorry your hormonal and cry a lot 'cause you don't get stuff." Harmony said in a dismissive voice, her way of apologizing to her sister. Leroy cleared his throat, purposely looking at John to make a better apology than Harmony, while Harmony's leg was kicked…_hard_ from the person across from her. Melody, who of course looked completely innocent.

"Ditto." John said as his way of apologizing, without really apologizing. He also received a bruising kick from Melody, who batted her eye lashes and looked completely innocent, as though she wasn't kicking _anyone_. Both Harmony and John shot her quick, angered looks at her kicks, so fast that their parents—and Lance didn't have a chance to catch them.

While the adults—and that includes Lance—fell into some type of conversation about politics, Harmony, John, and Melody had a stare down with each other. Coral was just watching all of this and who was going to kill who first.

"Harmony, can I check my…um…facebook after lunch?" Coral asked quickly, trying to not have Harmony murder her sister. Coral really couldn't blame Harmony for wanting to kill her sister though. It really_ was_ starting to get annoying, hanging around Melody and having every other word be 'baby'.

"Mom took my cell away. Unless you can find that stupid metal box, it's impossible for me to have you check it. Sorry." Harmony said with a shrug to her cousin, who actually looked deflated. It was amazing how all of Harmony's family wanted nothing to do with her other world—except for Coral. The girl was _amazed_ by Harmony's human world. T.V.s, iPods, internet, _electricity_, democracy instead of monarchy—it was something totally new to the girl, and she was intent on learning all about Harmony's world because, in all honestly…it was pretty cool. And that's why she had a facebook.

"What's…facebook? A book with your face?" John asked Harmony, clearly confused at the unfamiliar term. Melody snorted, though it sounded like she was trying to stifle a laugh.

"A book with your face would be a yearbook. Right Harm?" Melody asked and Harmony grinned a lazy grin at her, the morning and Melody's kicking completely forgotten by now.

"You catch on fast Mel." Harmony said with a small laugh to herself, before turning back to John. "Facebook is an online website that let's you connect with your friends in a variety of ways." The girl quoted what Facebook literally meant, though she only added more to the confusion of John.

"There's a site that's on a line with webs that you can talk to your friends?" This made Harmony, Coral, and Melody giggle all at the same time, much to John's non-understanding.

"It's not that literal. Facebook is…" The thought of explaining modern technology to John made Harmony's head spin. How do you explain what the internet was? How do you explain what a DVD player was, for that matter, to someone who'd never even thought of such things existing? "Forget it. You wouldn't be able to understand even if I hit you over the head with a stick." Harmony said with a grin to show she was only joking.

"Wait, is the stick big enough to make you bleed, or is it just big enough to make you unconscious?" John wondered, trying to keep himself from laughing. Harmony snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes, not noticing how suddenly the table got quiet, and everyone was listening to their conversation.

"Bleed…wait, why did you say 'you'? Are you planning to hit me over the head with a hypothetical stick?!" Harmony asked, mock outrage on her face, with a wide smile and a giggle to match.

"Who said anything about hypothetical? I thought this was a real stick we were talking about." John said, keeping his face completely straight—for about two seconds before breaking out in laughter. Harmony started to giggle.

"That's what she said." Harmony said quickly, a laugh coming out of her as she eyes sparkled in hope he would get the joke and not tell her that was inappropriate, like Ariel was itching to do. Everyone was now listening in on the conversation, each of them thinking how well Harmony and John matched each other.

"You have a dirty, twisted mind for a Princess." John said, keeping his face straight, and his expression serious. Harmony's smile slowly started to fade from her lips as she realized he was completely serious and wasn't joking any longer. "I like it." John said, smiling and laughing to Harmony's full on laugh. Finally, a boy who wasn't from Nebraska, who actually got that's-what-she-said jokes!

"The carnival is in town…would you like to go with me tonight?" John asked a bit nervously as a nervous smile came onto his slightly blushing face. He wasn't any good at asking girl's out, not one bit.

"It's a date." Harmony said with a full smile, her blue eyes bright with happiness at the thought of it. A date, with her, and John, how…chromazing (copyright of Lee Anne Meeks, using the word without this copyright can result in a very, very painful session of kicking and running away) !!

Suddenly, between all the smiling from John and Harmony, the way Melody, Ariel, and Margaret were looking at them both with soft knowing expressions, the way Eric looked ready to kill John, the way Leroy was shooting a look to his wife to see what was going on, and the way Lance's mouth twitched into a smirk, Coral understood what was going on. John…was in love...with Harmony.

Holy crap.

* * *

**Okay, so obviously, I don't own Facebook. That's just a website that i'm uber obbessed with. But I don't own it. Sorry. :P **

**The copyright after the word 'chromazing' I had to do. You see, I used that word in my reviews, and stories, and yadda-yadda-yadda, and my bff Lee Anne found out and she really kicks hard! I mean, like bruising kicking hard! So, I promised that I woudl put the copyright after the word everytime I used it. :P **

**Stay tuned for the next chapter! A very, very familiar song to all of you late 80's, and through the 90's disney fans will love it! But I can't spill anymore than that! Please review! **

**p.s. I'll have a little contest, just for fun. I want all of you to think of one movie that was in the late 80's and through the 90's (not TLM or TLM2 :( sorry) to think of ONE movie you think the song that will be used is from. Hurry up and review though because I'm hoping i'll be able to post up the next chapter tonight! **

**P.s.s. xJadeRainx, your unicorn will come in the next chapter! Be paitient! **


	16. Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

Coral, who was looking at Emma through the webcam sighed. Harmony never went anywhere without her laptop—even if she had to sneak it in. So, while she was at the carnival with John now, Coral had snuck into her room, found her laptop, and taken it to her room. The girl probably knew more about this laptop than Harmony did herself; honestly, she'd connected to the internet with absolutely no Wi-Fi anywhere around! Still, back to the original thoughts, Coral pursed her lips out as readied to speak to her friend.

"I tell ya Emma, this stinks." Coral said, crossing her arms over her chest in angry manner.

"Oh, sorry." Emma said a bit sheepish as she shrugged her shoulders and looked through the webcam at Coral.

"Not you, _them_. Him, her, in lo-ove." Coral finished her sentence with fake sarcastic sweetness in her voice, clasping her hands together as she put them next to her face as though she was some girly girl.

"What's wrong with that?" Emma questioned, generally confused by Coral's words.

"_I can see what's happening."_

"_What?" _Emma's voice questioned, not understanding what her best friend meant.

"_And they don't have a clue." _Coral shook her head in disgust.

"_Who?" _Emma questioned again, not understanding still.

"_They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line. Our trio's down to two." _Coral held up two fingers to signify her meaning to her friend in an almost sarcastic way.

"_Oh." _Emma finally understood her friend's meaning about Harmony and John.

"_Ze sweet caress of twilight." _A sarcastic mock-French accent that just spelled bitter came off of Coral's lips as she returned back to her normal voice, but still had sarcasm in it. _"There's magic everywhere. And with all this romantic atmosphere, disaster's in the air!"_

"_Can you feel the love tonight?" _Harmony and John walked side by side through the carnival, shyly catching each other's eye every now and then. Her hand somehow found his and slowly, shyly intertwined with it.

"_The peace the evening brings." _Everywhere around them laughter floated, booths jingled with sounds, children running in between people to get to a certain place….somehow, the young couple found all this…alright with them

"_The world for once, in perfect harmony, with all its living things."For _both John and Harmony somehow …everything was alright. Them, here at the carnival, holding hands, being so close to each other…it felt nice, like almost everything was…cheesy the next line may be, yes, but it was true. Everything was in harmony with the world.

"_So many things to tell him, but how to make him see? The truth about my past? Impossible! He'd turn away from me." _A soft sigh escaped Harmony's lips as she ran her fingers through her bright red hair. John could almost…feel her distress, as his anxious eyes looked down at her, hoping for some clue as to what was wrong.

"_She's holding back, she's hiding, but what, I can't decide. Why won't she be the carefree teen I know she is, the teen I see inside?" _John couldn't make out what was wrong with Harmony, no matter how hard he tried. So, he did the next best thing. Tugging on their intertwined hands, he led her to a booth.

"_Can you feel the love tonight?" _It was the throw a ball at the stacked up milk bottles, win a prize booth. Harmony gave John a questioning look as he gave the booth worker a coin, and got three balls set before him. He looked from the unicorn stuffed animal, and then to Harmony for a few seconds, before a smile went on both their lips. He was going to win her that stuffed animal.

"_The peace the evening brings." _John picked a ball up in his hand, tossed it into the air, and caught it easily, despite Harmony's quirked brow that as to why he wanted to win her a stuffed animal. The boy grinned shyly at the girl for a moment, before throwing the ball at the milk bottles…and not even knocking one off. Harmony's gentle laugh sounded in his ears as he picked up another ball and tried again.

"_The world for once, in perfect harmony, with all its living things." _Johnmanaged to chip off one of the milk bottles from the top, but didn't throw the ball hard enough to actually make the thing fall down and win Harmony a stuffed unicorn. Well, one more try left. John picked up the last ball in his hand…when he felt oddly, Harmony's warm, slender hand over his, taking the ball out of it. He gave her a questioning look, to which she answered with a sly look. Looking back at the milk bottles, the girl curled her fingers over the ball, and threw it right at the middle of the milk bottles, making them all fall down, and wining a stuffed unicorn.

"_Can you feel the love tonight?" _Harmony hugged her prize to her chest tightly, her eyes bright with happiness. John couldn't help but smile at her, though he'd been literally owned in throwing a ball and winning a prize for Harmony. But that was alright, when she intertwined her hand with his again, and the electric jolt went through both their veins.

"_You needn't look too far." _John pulled on their intertwined hands again, but this time it was to go to the carriage, not a booth. Still, as he helped Harmony into the open carriage and saw the way she smiled at him, he almost felt his knees give in.

"_Stealing through, the night's uncertainties." _The carriage stopped in the courtyard of the palace. For a moment, neither John nor Harmony's lips moved. Slowly but surely though, their body's did. They immediately, upon realizing this, blushed. John jumped off the carriage, and had his hand out to Harmony to help her down too. She didn't take it, instead opting for jumping off herself. She was a full head smaller than him, Harmony realized as an off note, as her head started to tilt upwards to see him better in the moonlight…or at least that's what she convinced herself as she saw John lean his face down too.

"_Love is where they are." _Both their lips caught in an embrace, and both their eyes closed as they took it in. The moonlight, the unicorn stuffed animal that'd been won, the shock they got from touching each other, they way they looked at each other…Harmony's heart and mind realized something oddly foreign, but at the same time all too familiar with her. She was in love.

_"__And if she falls in love tonight, it can be assumed."_ Coral'sgreen eyes watered with tears, as she tried to keep her voice from cracking as she talked to Emma still on web chat.

"_Her carefree days with us are history." _Emma's eyes were also watered with tears, as she tried to keep herself from crying in front of Coral. Harmony would leave them…forever. Maybe not in body, but her carefree spirit would be lost.

"_In short, our pal is doomed." _Both Emma and Coral finished for each other, before looking into the webcam's, hundreds of miles away from each other, and breaking down in tears.

* * *

**AWWW! I think this is my best chapter, so far in this story. Hmm...maybe next chapter will be better though. I'm not sure! **

**Soooo....the winner of my little contest is *Trumpets blare annoying loud, all car alarms go off* **

**ANIMA-ANIMOSITY or something like that, YOU"VE WON! You said the Lion King, and you were correct! The link to the youtube video that i've been watching obessively of this song is on my profile, in case you want to check it out. :D Good job, and as a prize, I'll let you choose one thing you want to happen. XD **

**New contest!! This one is going to be for the song i'll use in the NEXT Chapter, featuring only Harmony. I'll give you a hint about this song though, the girl who sings it wears her hair in a ponytail, a brunette pony tail. Is she a princess? Is she a normal person? Is she a fictional character I just made up to screw with all of you? I don't know, but you'll find out! **

**XJADERAINX I PUT IN UNICORN"S IN MY STORY, NOW YOU HAVE TO UPDATE, AND THE SAME GOES FOR YOU MISS AMNIMA-ANIMOSITY or whatever your screename is!!!!!!!!**

**p.s. Anima, thanks for the song lyrics. They're really nice! :D **

**pps. Just because you gave me great song lyrics though, doesn't mean I'm not mad at you for not updating. :(**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!**


	17. I Won't say I'm in Love

Harmony walked aimlessly about the castle grounds, letting her fingers brush against different things as she tried to get some control over her spinning mind. Finally not being able to take all this spinning going on through her head, she sat down at the edge of a fountain. The horn of the unicorn poked at her skin, bringing the girl back to the present as she lifted the stuffed animal into the air and smiled at it, thinking of John. She twirled the stuffed animal in her hands for a few minutes, smiling as thoughts of that boy filled her mind…before abruptly she stopped.

"Oh what's the matter with me?" Harmony asked herself, sighing deeply and biting her lip. "You'd think a girl would learn." The girl sighed again, standing up from the fountain and walking slowly towards a statue of a cupid.

"_If there's a prize for rotten judgment, I guess I've already won that."_ Harmony turned the cupid statue around so that it was facing away from her; she didn't need any love arrows right now. _"No man is worth the aggravation…"_ Harmony walked away slowly from the cupid statue, looking down at her unicorn with a sudden feeling of helplessness and hatred. _"That's ancient history, been there, done that!" _Harmony threw the unicorn over her head, and waited for the sound of it's soft thump. But the stuffed animal did no such thing.

"_Who'd'ya think you're kiddin', he's the Earth and heaven to you. Try to keep it hidden, honey, we can see right through you." _Harmony plopped down on a stone bench, resting her chin in her hands as she listened to her mother's voice tell her what was what. "_Girl, ya can't conceal it, we know how ya feelin' and who you're thinking of." _

"_Woaaooh._" Harmony voice sighed, feeling one too many eyes looking at her from behind. Melody, Margaret, and Ariel were all looking at the girl with a mixture of knowing and disbelief that Harmony actually was trying to shake these feelings away. Melody dangled the unicorn in front of her sister's face, hoping Harmony would take the bait and snatch it away. But Harmony barely even acknowledged the stuffed animal as she got up from the bench. With disbelief, the black haired beauty turned back to her mother and mother-in-law and shook her head as well as her shoulders.

"_Ohhhh. No chance, no way, I won't say it no, no." _Harmony's voice stated, walking away from the women. She looked back at them for a second, before giving them a dismissing hand as if to say don't-you-start-with-all-this-love-crap.

"_You swoon, you sigh, why deny it, uh-oh." _Margaret's voice pointed out to Harmony, who in turn just walked farther away from the women.

"_It's too cliché, I won't say I'm in love." _Harmony stated in a strong voice that practically said I'm-not-in-love-so-don't-force-it-down-my-throat. Margaret, Ariel and Melody gave each other shrugs in the truly outraged fashion at the thought that Harmony wasn't in love.

"_I thought my heart had learned its lesson, it feels so good when you start out. My head is screaming get a grip, girl, unless you're dying to cry your heart out." _Harmony's hands went to her forehead, pushing her hair back in the process as she felt her brain surge beneath her hands. "_Ohhhhhh." _

"_You keep on denying, who you are and how you're feeling. Baby, we're not buying." _Ariel's voice stated out,which only earned her an angry look from Harmony. _"Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling, face it like a grown-up." _Margaret's voice then pointed out, but she also got a furious look from Harmony. _"When ya gonna own up  
That ya got," _Melody paused for a moment, thinking it through before Margaret pick up._ "Got," _Margaret also paused, but only because she saw the helplessness in Harmony's eyes._ "Got it bad." _Ariel finished for both her daughter and friend, looking at her daughter with a pleading expression for the girl to see reason. Harmony instead, turned her back on the woman and walked towards a shallow pool with stepping stones on it, purely for decorational purposes.

"_No chance, no way, I won't say it no, no._" Harmony jumped across the stepping stones easily, to the disbelief of the two mothers, and the mother to soon be. Though, on the last one she stumbled a little bit, and only caught herself from falling by grabbing a statue of a young couple sitting together. Harmony couldn't help it, she smiled, remembering her and John back at the gazebo.

"_Give up, give in, check the grin you're in love." _Melody pointed out, with a hint of a superior smile to her older twin. The smile on Harmony's lips suddenly vanished, as the girl moved away from the statue quickly.

"_This scene won't play, I won't say I'm in love!" _Harmony said, clutching the sides of her face as she tried to block out that insanely annoying voice that sounded almost like xJadeRainx's voice in her head that kept telling her she was indeed in love.

"_You're doin flips read our lips, you're in love." _Margaret's voice gently prodded Harmony to realize what she'd known all along, but though Harmony's body had figured that much out, her mind was trying to block it all out.

"_You're way off base, I won't say it! __**Get off**__ my case, I won't say it!" _Harmony voice was so strong with finality, that the two mothers and mother-to-be might have actually believed her—had they not seen the way she looked at John, though. Harmony strode past the three women, her hands on her hips and her lips tightly clenched together as she was mad. One of her hands flew backwards, as if dismissing them all as just being stupid.

"_Girl, don't be proud, it's O.K. you're in love." _Ariel's gentle voice said, in an almost soothing manner so she didn't make her daughter any angrier. But there was also a hint of prodding in her voice, as without realizing it, Harmony had walked back to the fountain and sat down with her arms crossed against her chest defiantly. Melody crept silently—well, as silently as a nine month pregnant woman could—to the fountain and placed the unicorn next to her sister. Another sigh escaped from Harmony's red lips, as her hands went backwards to support the way she was going to sit now. But…what the…?

Her fingers brushed against something…something oddly familiar. Looking down with a gasp, her eyes flew open in shock as she realized it was the stuffed animal unicorn. A tiny blush worked itself onto her cheeks as a smile went full on her lips. She gently lifted the unicorn into the air, and twirled it in her hand, almost relishing how it smelled just like John.

"_Ahhhaaahhhoooohhhh. At least, out loud," _Harmony brought the unicorn up to her face, and closed her eyes in pure ecstasy. Slowly, she leaned backwards until she was lying down on the fountain, and hugging the unicorn.

"_I won't say I'm in, lo-o-ve."_

* * *

**Quite obiously, the song if from the movie Hercules, sung by Meg, and the song is 'I won't say I'm in love'. No one entered the contest, so sorry, no one wins. That's what you get...when you let your heart win! WOAAAHHHAAAAHHOOO! That's what you get when you let your heart win....sorry, I'm random like that. **

**Soo...there's something I need to adress. My winter break is coming up, yea! But, see, there's a problem. I haven't been getting NEARLY enough reviews as I've hoped for. So, to make this simple, I WANT MORE REVIEWS! If I don't get at least FIVE reviews for this chapter--seriously guys, that's NOTHING--I WILL NOT POST ANYTHING FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. Not even when I get my new laptop will I post up a chapter, unlless I get, FIVE REVIEWS for this chapter. **

**Also, I refuse to update until Anima-Animal-Animosity (i memorized it 'cause I'm cool like that) or xJadeRainx update THEIR stories. So, you know, yell, nudge, tell them to post up soon, because obviously they don't listen to me! **

***Preview of next two chapters just so you know what you'll be missing if you don't review* **

**1. A ring. I wont's specify anymore than that, but I just want to let you know, a ring will appear on a certain someone's finger in the next chapter or two. **

**2. A ball. You can fill in the blanks, if your smart enough. **

**3. Alec. That's a curve ball, now isn't it? **

**So, the choice is up to you guys. I want FIVE reviews for this chapter, and I wante xJadeRainx and Anima-Animal-Animosity to update. If you don't, no Love's a Rhapsody for the next two weeks! So review, and yell at those two authors for not updating soon enough! **


	18. A Breakfast of Memories and Concern

"Want to go to the pond, with me, after breakfast?" John asked Harmony, his heart pumping for her to say yes. He had a question to ask her—if he didn't chicken out—and he was really hoping she'd say yes. His brown eyes searched Harmony's blue ones for some type of answer.

"There's a pond here?" Harmony questioned, her brows pulling together as she thought this out.

"Um…yeah, Frog Pond." Lance answered, jumping into the conversation. Harmony and John resisted the urge to roll their eyes. "But there are no frogs there."

"If there are no frogs there, then why is it called frog pond?" Coral wondered, a look of seriously-that's-messed-up passing over her face.

"It's just been called that for so long…I don't think anyone would have ever thought to change the name." Lance answered with a shrug to Coral, who rolled her eyes at that stupid name. "But it's still a fun place to push unsuspecting siblings into the freezing water, right John?"

"Push me into that water now and we'll see how much fun it is." John answered with a growl to his brother, who only laughed it off, taking John's seriousness as a joke. Honestly, Lance was older by two years. He wasn't afraid of his little brother.

"Boys." Margaret's warning voice said, a message to both her sons that if they dared try and fight they would be severely punished—though one of them was already married and had a child on the way, and the other was seventeen.

"Anyway, what do you say, Harmony?" John asked, turning his attention back to the red head. The words softly played in Harmony's mind, but the girl barely gave them notice. Her eyes had a far off look in them, and her face was completely out of it. "Harmony? Har-monyyyyyy…"

"_Ahhh! NO! RY-AN!" Katherine's voice shrieked out, but in a playful manner as her young, childish giggles followed her statement. Her brother laughed too, his voice as young and childish as his sister's. _

"_One..." Ryan went back a few steps, holding onto the tire swing that his sister was clutching onto. "Two…." Ryan went back a few more steps, as far as the old tree that held the rope that held the tire that held his sister would let him. "Three!" Ryan let go of the tire, and grinned widely as his sister screamed, and splashed into the pond only a moment later. Her red, sopping head surfaced in a minute, her blue eyes shining with mock anger at her brother. Still, as mock angry as she was at him for releasing the tire swing and making her jump, she still giggled when he did a cannon ball into the pond. _

"_That was a seven." Katherine's voice said, giggling as she swam over easily to her brother. She liked being in the water…it felt almost…_right_ to her. Shaking those thoughts though, the girl rubbed at her bare shoulders that felt cold when they were out of the water. Accidently, her fingers rubbed one of the more serious bruises that covered her arms, and she winced terribly as memories of the night before played in her mind. _

"_No way! That was a total ten!" Ryan argued, floating on his back in the cool pond water. It was a hot summer day, and after last night…well, he just wanted to get away for awhile. Miller's Pond was thought to be cursed, that's why not to many kids came to it, but that was alright with the boy. He didn't need to have his friends asking him how come he had so many bruises, or how come he had a lip that was slowly un-swelling down. _

"_Ryan?" Katherine's voice asked all seriousness in it now. For an eight year old, she had a lot to deal with. But, that was alright with her, because, hey, she was used to it. _

"_Yeah?" Ryan wondered, moving his body so that he was in standing position in the water—if he was tall enough to reach the bottom of the pond though. _

"_Never mind." Katherine said, dismissing her question as something stupid, before perking up again. "Hey! Wanna go see if we can catch a frog?" The girl was exited to do such a fun thing, her face lighting up like the fourth of July. _

"_Sure!" Ryan agreed happily, as only a ten year old could. Katherine quickly started swimming towards the lily pads, singing some type of song to herself about catching a frog and maybe even kissing it to find out if he was a prince or not. _

Harmony jerked out of her reverie with a sudden gasp to herself. She found all eyes staring at her with concern etched into the lines of everyone's faces as they stared at her.

"Honey, are you feeling alright?" Ariel's worried voice questioned, placing a gentle hand on Harmony's shoulder. The girl flinched when her mother's hand fell onto her shoulder.

"Yeah. Just…rememberin' somethin'." Harmony said with a shrug, not caring how everyone—besides Coral, John, and herself—almost cringed at her horribly non-grammatical sentence. "Just give me my pill and I'll be alright." Harmony's face was impassive to read. Slowly Ariel extended her hand and deposited a pretty large sized white pill into Harmony's hand. The girl easily swallowed it without a moment's hesitation—or without any water that is.

"Allergies." Harmony clarified to John, making sure her tone sounded just the right amount of sheepish so he didn't know the truth behind her pills. How could she tell him that she was on anti-depressants because she'd seen her brother die before her eyes, been kicked out, been locked in a dungeon, even gone as far as stab herself…no, it was better he didn't know.

"Of course." John answered, though he really didn't know what to say. Why had Harmony fallen into some sort of trance like state, only moment before? Why did she flinch at Ariel's touch? What was it that she was hiding from him?

* * *

**Well, my demands were met halfway. I got four reviews for the last chapter, and Anima updated so it was almost like my demands were met. :D **

**So for those who want me to put in their ideas for the chapters, be patient. I swear, I will put it all in. But I want to do it so that it doesn't sound stupid and like it was just randomly put in there. But it will be in there. I promise. :C (yay! I invented a new smiley!)**

**Bye...bye...miss american pie, drove my chevee to the levee but the levee was dry, them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin this will be the day that I die, this will be the day that I die...sorry, I have that song stuck in my head now! **

**REVIEW!!!!!!**


	19. AntiDepressants at Their Best

_I'm mad at you. Extremely mad. _

Harmony raised her brows at her horse's words, but that didn't phrase her as she tightened the saddle on him. "What'd I do this time?" The girl asked, adjusting the strap on the saddle. Most girls—like Melody and her mother—cringed at the idea of having to actually put a saddle on their horse, or brush out their coats for more than five minutes. But Harmony was a born and raised small town girl who was used to doing things on her own; it still annoyed her that as a princess, she couldn't do much of anything besides sit back and put her feet up.

_You haven't come to see me in at least a full day. A full day! I will never forgive you for this injustice against me. _

"Bris, you could have killed me last time I went riding with you." Harmony started, refraining from saying 'I went riding on you' because she knew that would only get her a quick kick in the shins. "And I was crying for hours on end because I didn't think he understood because I had to use my powers to heal my wrist when you decided to run off. Trust me, we're even." Harmony stated, pulling the stall door open for Brisinger, who walked out with his head held high. Harmony resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They should really change his name to _Prince_ Brisinger, because of how much he was just made for the title.

The ride to the pond was silent between Harmony and John, both of them too wrapped up in their thoughts to really talk. It wasn't an awkward silence between them though, no, it was a kind of contented silence. The kind of silence where it's just nice to be silent.

Finally, upon arriving at the pond, Harmony felt an immense feeling of déjà vu hit her. She could almost see a younger version of herself, and her older brother, running around, laughing as they played tag and tried not to fall into the water.

"_I betcha can't catch me Ryan!" The girl stuck out her tongue, and shrieked as _she jumped backwards when mud was thrown at her feet. In the distance, she could_ hear laughing…his triumphant laugh. Fuming, the girl grabbed a huge glob of mud, and started to run towards him. _

"Harmony? Are you alright?" John's face suddenly overwhelmed Harmony's vision, blocking her off from the scene of her younger self laughing with her older brother at old Miller's Pond. Harmony sucked in a breath, and let it out slowly, and controlled.

"Yeah. I'm fine." The teenager answered, before turning to her saddle bag and pulling out her art utensils—which were basically her pencil, sketchbook, and pastels. The girl sat without a second thought on the snowy bank of the pond, and kept her head down, focused on her work, so she didn't have to think of her past memories that included Ryan.

"Harmony, something's wrong with you. I don't know…I can just feel it. Tell me." John urged the teenager. Harmony though only made her head go down deeper, as though she was really focused on her sketching, though she was really trying to hide her tears. For a moment, her head lifted slightly up as she saw something around the pond.

"_Ryan! You know I can't go that fast! Wait up!" Katherine was older now, about fourteen instead of eight. Her legs furiously pushed the bike pedals in an attempt to catch up to her older brother. He looked back once at her, before laughing and speeding up on his bike even more through the woods to get to the pond. _

_He arrived at the pond, of course, ahead of his sister. Quickly, he slipped out of his sneakers and socks, pulled off his shirt, and jumped into the cool water of the old pond. _

_Katherine arrived on her bike just as she saw her brother splash into the water. Throwing her hand-me-down bike onto the ground, she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a thrift store green bikini top. Then she quickly shimmied out of her shorts and her black—you guessed it—hand-me-down crocs. The girl backed up a few paces as she saw her brothers head reappear in the water. Her eyes shined and her lips pulled up into a smile as she started to run, full speed, at the water and jumped. _

"_Cannon Ball!" The girl shrieked, splashing into the water just a moment later, as her brother's laugh rang in her ears. _

"I'm fine John." Harmony lied, feeling a tear actually slip down her face and onto her sketch pad. Quickly she lowered her face back down to it, her heart pumping at a million miles per hour. How could she explain to him that she was seeing her old memories dance across her eyes? How could she explain to him how much pain this pond reminded her of?

"Did I do something?" John asked, feeling a little panicked now at the thought that he'd done something to upset Harmony. The girl shook her head in a 'no' fashion because she couldn't trust her voice. "Okay then…um…did you get in a fight with your parents?" John tried guessing what was wrong with Harmony, but the girl gave him barely a clue besides shaking her head in to signify 'no'. "Are…you homesick?" John tried guessing once again. This time though, Harmony didn't shake her head to say 'no'. Instead…she just didn't do a thing. That must be it, John realized. She was homesick.

"You want to go back home and get this vacation over with, don't you?" John asked, hiding the fear in his voice that Harmony actually wanted that. Yes, Harmony was homesick, but not in the way she knew John was thinking of. She missed Nebraska. She missed her old room, with her pictures, posters, and the sheets that smelled like Downy. Yes, she's been living with Eric and Ariel for three years now. Yes, she'd gotten used to living in the palace, and being a princess. But the homesick feeling for her old, fourteen year old self, before she'd met her real parents never truly went away.

"I-I'm homesick in-in a different way. Fo-forget it. You wouldn't under-understand." Harmony sniffled, wiping her tears away with the back of her arm. Slowly, John wrapped his arm around Harmony, pulling her closer to him. He did it on impulse, and waited for the girl to move his arm off of her…but she didn't.

"Try me." John answered, wishing that Harmony wasn't in so much pain. The girl looked up at him with those electric blue eyes, and tears still running down her face. She sniffled once, before putting her head back down and wiping her tears away again with the back of her arm.

"Th-this pond. It reminds me…of…my brother. How we-we used to go to Miller's Pond during the summer. I-I miss him." Harmony whispered, choking on her tears as she tried to keep them back and not cry. Who could ever like a girl with so many problems?

"Ooh, that's what's bothering you. You're homesick for your other world, and your childhood with him." John clarified, though it was more to himself than anything. Harmony nodded glumly, wiping away the last of her tears as she felt her medication kicking in. "I'm going to be honest with you Harmony; I don't know what to say because I've never lost someone…so close to me before." John said honestly, knowing that if he tried to lie it would probably annoy Harmony. "But if it makes you feel any better, I would trade Lance for your brother in a heartbeat—if it made you feel better." John said with joking eyes. A soft laugh escaped Harmony before she could stop it; damn, those pills work just when she needed them to.

"Do you think that we could go out again tonight? I've been wanting to show you something, but it's much prettier to see at night." John asked suddenly, his brown eyes shining for Harmony to say yes. The girl thought about it for a moment, before shrugging and smiling to the boy.

"Sure." John almost felt his heart leap in his chest at her answer. Maybe, just maybe, he would have enough courage to ask her at the tree tonight.

Just maybe….

* * *

**What is he going to ask her? I wonder....what he has to ask her....XD! **

**REVIEW!!!!**


	20. The Most Memorable Night

"What's your favorite flower?" John asked randomly, horseback riding through the woods with Harmony to the tree he wanted to show her. Harmony looked, surprised as she shrugged.

"I don't have one." Harmony answered, her blue eyes completely honest. John did a double take. Not have one? But…all girls had favorite flowers! It was…it was impossible for a girl not to!

_And you call _me _strange. _

"Then what would a boy send you if he wanted to court you?" John wondered in a teasing fashion. Harmony laughed softly, her eyes twinkling like the stars above in the night sky. The girl ignored her horse's snide comment; he was still a little put out with Harmony about not seeing him for a full day.

"He could send me books." Harmony answered with upmost honesty in her voice. She wasn't the type of girl to have flowers sent to her door; flowers die, but the adventures in books never would.

"Books filled with poems about how beautiful you are, correct?" John asked, his voice politely wondering.

_Yes pretty boy. Send her a book filled with poems about how beautiful she is and we'll see how long it will take before Harmony uses your head as target practice with the book. _

Harmony giggled at her horses' sarcasm, catching the attention of John in the process. Stifling the rest of her giggles, the girl looked up at John with a small smile. "A book like that would be useless because I'd never read it. If a boy wanted to court me, he could just send me normal books—and by normal books I don't mean romance novels—I mean…adventure, mystery, funny, those kinds of books." Harmony said thoughtfully, before turning to face John.

"Books. You're the first girl I've met who would actually prefer a good book over a flower. I like that." John said with a warm smile to Harmony, before looking ahead at the rode.

_Told you I'd fix your relationship. Now he's in love with you. _

"You think so Bris?" Harmony murmured so softly she knew only her horse could hear. Her heart beat fast just thinking about the fact that John could love her back.

_I may be a horse, but I'm not an idiot. He's in love with you._

"Here we are." John said, looking up at the old sycamore tree. Though all the other plants around it were covered in snow and the other trees around it bare without leaves, this tree was something special, for it was as green as you would expect it to be in the summer—in the winter. Seeing Harmony's awed expression, John immediately took it the wrong way.

"I know, it's a tree, but when you climb it it's so beautiful. We don't have to climb it though. We could just…walk around, see everything—" John was cut off by the sound of Harmony jumping off her horse and smiling up at him.

"You make me sound like Melody. Of course I want to climb it." Harmony said with a smile, her eyes shining like the fourth of July. John couldn't help but grin as he jumped down from Maybell, and took Harmony's hand in his, feeling that electric shock in his hand as he did.

"I haven't done this since I was a kid!" Harmony laughed, kicking off her shoes, and grabbing the low branch of the tree and hoisting herself up. John was amazed at how easy it all was for her, how she just seemed not to care that she was getting a little dirty, or that she was climbing high into the air.

"Wait for me!" John cried, trying to catch up to Harmony who was already about four branches ahead of him. The girl laughed and kept climbing, higher, and higher into the tree. She didn't care when she got a little scraped up, or how high she suddenly seemed to be. She just climbed up as high as she could go, in and out of branches, higher and higher until finally….she was on the top.

Her head had poked through the canopy of the tree, and looking up, Harmony saw the most gorgeous sight. Stars, hundreds of them, all alighted with the night's full moon. The moon and stars seemed…almost touchable, the way they were positioned. Harmony reached out a hand to them, her face awed, and her eyes alight with—literal—star struck. That's when a familiar tune came back into her mind, and almost angelically, she started to sing it.

"_Star Light Star bright,  
The first star I see tonight,  
I wish I may, I wish I might,  
Have the wish I wish tonight." _

"What did you wish for?" A soft voice behind Harmony asked. The girl didn't turn around, as she only closed her eyes and sighed softly.

"I wished that this night would always be memorable." Harmony said softly, her eyes reopening as she looked up at the stars again, before turning to an even more beautiful sight. John.

He had a smile on his face, as he lifted a hand to tuck a lock of Harmony's loose red hair behind her ears. The girl usually pulled her hair back into a braid—it was easier to control that way—but her mother had insisted that for her date with John tonight that she leave it down. Harmony had just rolled her eyes, but gone with it all the same so she didn't hear Ariel's nagging any longer. So now, the girl's hair was wavy, but her eyes still twinkled like the stars that shined.

"It will be." John said softly, leaning forward and catching Harmony's lips in his. The girl could have sworn she was flying—wait, yes, actually she _was_. Slowly, she floated back downwards so that she was sitting next to John—all the while not breaking her kiss with him. It felt like she could taste the sun, or it felt like how the day after a hurricane was. Something beautiful, something almost magical, something…something that made her heart beat so fast she could have sworn it was out of her chest. Slowly, John and her broke off from the kiss for oxygen, and Harmony reopened her eyes—which she hadn't even known were closed.

"Harmony, I love you." John said softly, letting Harmony move herself so that she was leaning against him.

"I love you too." Harmony uttered the three same words which had led to her horrible downfall three years ago—but now, now it just seemed right. Now it seemed wonderful, amazing, and fantastic—it was the best thing she'd ever felt.

"Will you marry me, Harmony Benson?"

* * *

**Omg! HOw cute! I hope she'll say yes! I really do! See, even though I'm the author, I don't even know what Harmony will say! :D **

**REVIEW tell me how much you liked or hated this chapter--I don't ever mind constructive critism, I swear. :D **

**REVIEW! **

**Also, can anyone catch the Taylor Swift lyric I put in here? Hint, it's from the song "Mary's Song"! **

**REVEIW!**


	21. Happily and Sadly Engaged

"Ariel, come away from that window. If Harmony finds out that you're trying to spy on her…" Eric's voice said, his blue eyes looking up for a moment at his wife, before looking back down onto the chess table.

"Margaret, the same applies to you too." Leroy's voice said, not bothering to turn around and look at his wife, who had opened the curtain a little to try and see where Harmony and John might be. Ariel and Margaret looked at each other before rolling their eyes at their husbands' idiocy.

"Eric, Harmony may become engaged tonight; do you _really_ expect me to not do anything?" Ariel questioned in a rhetorical sense, peaking out the window again to try and spy on Harmony. Or rather, find Harmony that is. The girl and John had been vague about where they'd be tonight, which Ariel took as a sign for the fact John would propose to her daughter tonight.

"I don't even understand how Harmony could be in love with John. He's so…sarcastic, bitter, and he'd rather stay in a library than go to a ball." Lance said, rubbing his eyes at just the mention of his wayward brother. Melody couldn't help but shrug next to him on the couch.

"Harmony is the same way. Sarcastic, bitter, prefers books over balls…it's like a match made in heaven for those two." Melody said with an eye roll at her sister's personality.

"How do we even know she's going to get engaged? I mean, just two days ago she was locked in her room, crying because John had hurt her." Coral pointed out, her heart pumping for Harmony not to become engaged. No, the girl wasn't old enough. She wasn't going to do so. Harmony would turn it down if John asked her. That was it. It had to be that.

"She's got a point Ariel." Eric noted, moving his knight forward a space in his chess game with Leroy. Inwardly, Eric was hoping to god that his daughter wasn't engaged. She couldn't be, no she was too young!

"Women will forever over think things." Leroy said shaking his head as he moved forward his king in the last ditch effort to win the chess match against his childhood friend.

"Leroy, do me a favor, and shut up." Margaret said in a sweet voice, before turning back around and looking out the window again. "I wonder where he took her. I hope they're alright…" Margaret murmured, trying to find her son and Harmony outside in the dark night.

"Please, it's _Harmony_. She still goes to her other world for school; and that world is _horrible_." Melody's voice said, a small shudder running down her spine as she just thought of it. Her memory of Harmony's other world would forever be dimmed by the fact that when she was there, it was because her sister had been literally on the edge of death. "Don't tell her I said that though. She'd kill me if she knew…" Melody trailed off, knowing how exactly threatening her sister could be…and how sometimes her anger led to…well…not so great results.

"No Mel, I wouldn't kill you. I'd slowly torture you first, and_ then_ let you die." A silky sweet voice made Melody sit up straight—or, as far as she could sit up that is—as she knew who's voice that was exactly. Turning her head, she saw Harmony's innocent blue eyes staring at her. A weak, sheepish smile came across Melody's face as she blushed crimson.

"Did you have fun honey?" Ariel wondered, trying to sneak a peek at Harmony's hand without being too obvious. The girl had her arms crossed against her chest though, and she didn't even seem all that excited.

"Dreaming about killing Melody? Yes, actually I did." Harmony said with a wickedly sweet smile to herself, one that got her a warning look from both her parents.

"No, technically, _we_ did. I refuse to be left out of dreaming about killing Melody." John said with a smirk on his face straight to his brother, who shot him a furious look. Still, Lance did notice something was up from the way John slid his hands around Harmony's waist, and she didn't complain whatsoever.

"You're _both_ driving me insane." Margaret muttered under her breath, shaking her head at her son and Harmony. Ariel, too grimaced as she looked at her daughter with pleading eyes.

"Please, just tell us if you're engaged or not Harmony, before I _die_ from not knowing!" Ariel begged her daughter. Harmony leaned her head against John's chest, looking up at him with one eyebrow quirked upward. Eric resisted the urge to murder John right on the spot. Harmony sighed and brought her head back down to it's normal place. Slowly, she un-crossed her arms, and showed her mother her left hand with an eye roll to herself.

Ariel, Margaret, and Melody screamed in delight as they saw there was a diamond ring on Harmony's fourth finger from the left. Coral felt herself almost break out into tears. Eric, Lance, and Leroy were all stunned, sitting motionlessly in their seats.

"I'm so happy!" Ariel cried, throwing her arms around her daughter who was grimacing at the PDA—public display of affection. Melody, if she could, would have gotten up from the couch and hugged her sister too, if it wasn't for the fact she was nine months pregnant and due any day.

"No, please, scream off my ear Mom. It's not like I _need_ it or anything…." Harmony said sarcastically, trying to wriggle her way out of Ariel's grasp. Ariel let her do no such thing though as she hugged her baby close to her, feeling almost tears pool in her eyes. Finally, something good in Harmony's life. Finally.

"Mother!" John whined, him too finding that his mother's arms were impossible to escape from. "I know your happy, but really mother, I want to at least be with my fiancé, _Harmony_." John whined, finally managing to find a way out of his mother's arms.

That did it for Coral though. Harmony was engaged. She had a fiancé, she was never going to be the fun loving, reckless girl again. With a sob, Coral pushed herself off of the couch next to Melody and ran out of the room. Ariel bit her lip in concern for her niece, and shook her head to Margaret's questioning glance.

"I'll go see what's wrong with her." Ariel said with worry filling up her tone. Though, most of her worry was over shadowed by pure joy that Harmony had found someone to be with.

"No, I'll go." Harmony said, wrenching herself away from Margaret's hug. With a wink to John, her wickedly sweet smile played back on her features again. "Have fun explaining everything to them." Harmony said with a laugh to his groan, before walking out of the room and going to find Coral.

* * *

**I'm going to disney for the next four days, so I won't be able to update! I'm so sorry but I am! So...tomorrow is my (official) b-day, and I'll be in epcot! WIsh me a happy b-day! BYE! REVIEW TOO! **


	22. Dingleberry

"Corallll….come out, come out, wherever you are…." Harmony's singsong voice said, opening the door to her cousin's room. Coral was curled up on the bed, her head resting on a pillow away from Harmony so that the girl couldn't see her tears, though her sobs were just as bad.

"Go-Go away Aunt Ar-Ariel." Coral sobbed out, hiding her face deeper into the pillows as she heard the door to her room open up. Her Aunt was going to try and convince her to go back and say that she was happy for Harmony…but Coral _wasn't_ happy. Just take Melody for example.

It used to be Melody, Harmony, Emma, and Coral all together, always getting in trouble, laughing, making crude comments and then laughing some more. Just this morning, after breakfast, Coral had said a that's-what-she-said joke in front of Melody, thinking she would laugh like old times. But all Melody did was blush crimson, say that that was an inappropriate subject to talk about, and then hurried off to catch up with Ariel and Margaret. Where had the _old _Melody gone? The one who had a secret wild streak inside of her, the one who could be prim and proper, but underneath her shell she was a rebel! And now, Harmony was going to get married and the same would happen to her! Reckless, wild, not caring Harmony would turn into a blushing, proper, girly-girl princess!

"If my Mom was here my new bitch detector machine would be going off like the fireworks on the fourth of July." Harmony noted dryly, catching her cousin's attention almost immediately. Coral sat up quickly, looking at her cousin with wet, red eyes.

"Don't you hav-have a fiancé to be going to?" Coral asked bitterly, a fresh wave of tears blurring her vision. Harmony said nothing, looking down at her worn out converse as she sat on her cousin's bed before sighing heavily and looking up at her crying cousin.

"What do you have against me getting…you know." Harmony couldn't bring herself to say _married_. It seemed so…so final. It's not that she didn't love John, far from it. But…getting married at seventeen? That's what girls in old fashion movies did, not her. Still…maybe, possibly, hopefully, she'd find out a way to fit her soon to be married life into her high school life—and possibly college too.

"I-I…you'll b-be like Melody if you get mar-married. I-I'll…we-we'll lose yo-you." Coral whispered, before dissolving into tears again. Harmony felt her mind reeling. Would she turn to be like Melody after she got married? Would she be obessed with having a baby, would she only want to talk to her mother, would she lose herself? Taking in a deep breath, the girl let it out slowly in a sigh, closing her eyes as she thought it all out.

"Okay….I see your point." Harmony said slowly, nodding her head and reopening her eyes so she could look at her cousin. "I can't say that will never happen, because I _don't _know what will happen in the future. But…I don't want to be like that, at all. You've got to help me out though, 'k?" Harmony's voice was suddenly anxious, as an idea slowly formed in her mind. "If I start going off about 'my fiancé' or 'the baby' or stuff like that…you need to tell me like a key word that will let me know I'm going off my rocker. Something like…like…" Harmony bit her lip, thinking about what word could she choose.

"Like din-dingleberry?" Coral questioned, her voice hiccupping as she tried to get some more control over it after sobbing for so long. Harmony grinned widely at the word, her one dimple showing through as she nodded.

"Yeah. Dingleberry. If I start becoming a mini-Melody, just say dingleberry so I know what I'm turning into." Harmony said with a laugh, her blue eyes dancing and her heart thumping happily. But, her mind was a whirlwind of activity. How could she tell Emma that she would wed at only seventeen? How could she tell her family that she still wanted to attend college and play soccer too? What was she going to do? "You going to come back, or are you going to stay here?" Harmony asked the girl, pushing aside her doubtful thoughts and looking at her cousin.

"I-I think I'll stay. My face is all red and stuff." 'And stuff' in this case meaning that Coral had to get on Harmony's laptop and tell Emma all this. It was too confusing to just take in all by herself.

"Whatever." Harmony said with a shrug, throwing her feet off of Coral's bed and walking towards the girl's door. Suddenly though, she looked back at her sixteen year old cousin, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You know, I can't find my laptop. You wouldn't have anything to do with it's sudden disappearance, would you?" Harmony asked, knowing full well that Coral had taken her laptop from her room—without her permission—and was using it. Normally, Harmony wouldn't have minded because she knew Coral was terrified of what she'd do to her if the girl broke it, but she wanted to check…some things out on the internet tonight, and she couldn't do that if Coral had her computer.

"Um…no." Coral said meekly, swallowing what was left of her courage as the second generation of electric blue eyes stared her down, as if looking straight through her.

"I want it back in my room by the time I get back." Harmony called over her shoulder to the girl, a smirk on her face as she thought of how John must be faring. Having to explain to two mothers, a hormonal mother-to-be, a shocked father and brother, and a ready to kill father-of-the-bride-to-be what exactly had happened, how he proposed, where they were, what they were doing, if it was romantic, if it was stupid, and yadda yadda yadda.


	23. The Lost Art of Loony Toons

"…the hundredth time Mother, I just asked her if she would marry me and she said _yes_. That's _all_." John's annoyed voice rang out as Harmony opened the door of the sitting room everyone was in slowly, making sure she could see everyone but they couldn't see her, just yet.

"That can't be all that happened!" Melody's voice came across, protesting to the extreme point that even Harmony rolled her eyes. "Where did you go?! How did you say it?! Oh please give up _some_ details!" Melody pleaded her face morphing into the perfect puppy dog pout.

"That's all folks." Harmony's voice floated in with a warm laugh to herself, sliding next to John before looking up…and seeing everyone, including John's, confused expression. Sighing, the girl shook her head. "Never mind. The Looney Toons are a lost art in this world." Harmony said with another sigh, bringing her fingernails up to her mouth and started to bite them off.

"Looney Toons?" John questioned with furrowed brows as to what Harmony was talking about. The girl gave him a bleak smile, before shaking her head again.

"Forget it. Porky Pig's stuttering will be forever lost to this world." Harmony said with a sigh, thinking back to her childhood. Running down the stairs so fast to see the Saturday morning cartoons, arguing over who had control over the remote control, fighting during commercials, but becoming absolutely still while the show was on…ah, those were the days.

"Alright…." John said, not convinced that Harmony wasn't hiding something from him. But, wanting to let bygones be bygones, he shook those thoughts off from his mind.

"Is Coral alright?" Ariel's concerned voice asked, her blue eyes looking into those of her daughter. For a moment, she thought she saw something pass over the girl's eyes, something like…like…well, Ariel couldn't really explain it, but she thought she saw something there. Still, it was gone in a moment.

"Yeah, she's alright." Ariel grinded her teeth together as she heard the girl say 'yeah' instead of 'yes'. She hated more than anything Harmony's horrible grammar. After all, a princess should be _refined_…not question what refined meant!

"Good." Ariel said with a contented sigh. "Now, tell us everything, and don't leave a thing out!" Ariel said anxiously, her face suddenly becoming excited as she leaned forward and grasped her daughter's hands in her own. Harmony immediately flinched as Ariel leaned forward, and she flinched even harder when her hands were grasped.

"Reflex reaction." Harmony said with a sheepish smile and a shrug to John's quirked eyebrow as to why she was flinching. It was a reflex reaction to the girl, after so many years. She'd grown accustomed to it, though for some reason people like her parents or her Aunts never got used to it. "And all I'm going to say is that it was…nice, in its own way. A very memorable night." Harmony said, jabbing John in the ribs with her elbow as she heard him chuckled above her head at the silent that's what she said joke that just hung in the air between the two of them.

"That's it?! No more?! That's not fair Harm! You have to say something more!" Melody begged, ignoring her father's very clear glance in her direction that basically said um-no-she-doesn't-need-to-say-anything-more. Eric, Lance, and Leroy were all just staring silently in their shock at Harmony and John, wondering how they could be engaged.

"Don't tell me my son has been getting to you." Margaret groaned. "You have to say what happened, you have to!" Margaret pleaded, but the girl only rolled her eyes in response. Suddenly the girl yawned then, blinking off her exhaustion as she snuck a look at the grandfather clock in the room. No wonder she was tired. It was already passed midnight!

"Cover your mouth when you yawn Harmony." Ariel couldn't resist chiding the girl, it was too much of a temptation. "No one needs to see your tonsils."

"Whateve's. Look, it's past midnight, can I get to bed, or are the three of you going to badger me with questions until I fall asleep?" Harmony wondered, leaning against John tiredly as he became her temporary pillow. Eric's fist was clenched up in anger that he wouldn't unleash until he was alone with his wife.

"Well, it is late. And I don't think staying up this long is good for the—" Melody was suddenly cut off by the fact she couldn't speak. Glaring at her sister's direction, she saw Harmony who had her eyes closed resting her head on John's shoulder with a small smirk on her face.

"That's true." Margaret acknowledged, knowing the end of Melody's sentence though the girl hadn't said it. "I think we should all head off to bed now, or else we'll be tired to the extreme tomorrow morning."

"Come on baby." Ariel's gentle voice said to Harmony, rousing the girl from her almost slumber. Pulling the girl onto her feet, Ariel shared a knowing smile with Margaret as a small laugh escaped her lips. John rolled his eyes at the mothers, but did shoot a glance in Harmony's direction before slipping out of the room quickly and silently.

Ariel gently shepherded her drowsy daughter towards her room, Eric at her heels, silent as ever for some reason. Opening up her daughter's room, Ariel managed to get the girl behind the dressing screen and pull a nightgown over her before gently shepherding the girl back to bed. Throughout all of this, Harmony was drowsy that she didn't even complain.

Tucking Harmony in, Ariel couldn't help but smile at her oldest daughter. The girl was going to get married, and maybe, just maybe, her life would finally be alright. Just maybe…

"Goodnight my little tune." Ariel whispered, kissing the girl on the forehead before blowing out the night candle. Walking out of her daughter's room, Ariel checked up on her niece, a slow, warm smile coming onto her lips as she saw Coral was already fast asleep.

And now, to check up on her husband, Ariel thought to herself with a soft laugh.


	24. Daddy's Girl Isn't Alowed to Get Married

Ariel hummed lightly to herself as she brushed out her long red hair that had not a tint of gray to it yet. She was sitting on the vanity chair in her nightgown, watching through the mirror, her husband who hadn't spoken a word to her yet. The room was warm, thanks to the cackling fireplace, though the marble floors were cold as ice because outside it was most likely in the negatives. Still, Ariel didn't mind as she tried to brush through a very stubborn knot in her thick red hair.

"Harmony is pregnant." Eric's voice finally said from the bed. Ariel whipped around in the vanity chair, staring at her husband in shock at his completely off words.

"What do you mean, 'Harmony is pregnant'?!" Ariel asked, her jaw dropping and her mind not comprehending. Her oldest daughter, pregnant? What did Eric mean by such a thing?!

"I mean, our oldest daughter, Harmony Althea Benson is pregnant with a child." Eric said simply, his hands going underneath his head on the pillow as he closed his eyes, thinking this all through.

"Oh Eric." Ariel sighed heavily, shaking her red hair. "Haven't we already had this discussion before? For Harmony to have done something inappropriate, she would be on cloud nine right now. Plus, I trust my oldest daughter to be responsible. She's not pregnant." Ariel said firmly, believing in her statement one hundred percent. Too bad her husband didn't.

"There are eight hours of school a day, correct?" Eric asked, though it was more like a rhetorical question. "Plus weekends she's busy doing 'community service' in her other world; don't you think she could have just gone out and gotten pregnant without us knowing?" Eric's voice was reasonable, and his eyes were still shut so he didn't see Ariel's eye roll in his direction as she turned back to the mirror and brushed out her long red locks.

"I trust our daughter Eric." Ariel answered simply, brushing her hair just a tad bit harder now.

"Just like you trusted Melody?" Eric pointed out in an equal simple tone. Ariel turned around in her vanity seat again, this time her brows raised as to what her husband meant by her parenting skills.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Ariel asked in a calm but irritated voice as her eyes flashed at her husband who still had his eyes closed.

"Don't be daft Ariel, you know exactly what it means." Eric snapped at his wife, his irritation finally showing through. "Melody was out the _entire_ night, and when the guards finally found her at around dawn, she didn't even have any clothes on and she was sleeping next to Lance! You said you trusted that Melody had a reasonable explanation for all of that, and that night we found out she was pregnant! Pregnant! At sixteen no less! What kind of brain dead idiot becomes pregnant at sixteen to a man she's only known for a few months?!" Eric's voice rose a pitch or two as his eyes opened up and flashed at the thought of it. He'd already lost one daughter because her stupid mistakes, he wasn't going to lose another!

"I did." Ariel's voice noted quietly, some hurt slipping into her voice. Her throat closed up at Eric words, and she turned around in her vanity chair so that he didn't see her tears. Her shoulders shook with the effort to hold her sobs at bay.

"Ariel, don't cry. I hate seeing you cry, you know that. And I didn't mean you. I just meant…" Eric's voice trailed off as he winced, knowing he was in hot water now. Stupid, he mentally slapped himself, he should know better than to bring up things like that. He got out of bed and rested his hand on his wife's shaking shoulder, biting his lip at his idiocy.

"You ju-just meant our daughter." Ariel's voice cracked, as she buried her face into her hands and sobbed. Eric winced again, this time more deeply as he saw he had really hurt his wife.

"Ariel, please, stop crying." Eric begged, dropping onto one knee so that he was looking up at his wife and could try and get her to stop sobbing. It hurt him as much as it hurt her to cry. "I'm sorry love. Really, I am. I didn't mean anything by that. But…you don't understand what it's like to be a father, and to know that you've already lost one daughter to marriage, and now your other one hovers on the brink of marriage to. Please love, stop crying and try to understand what I'm going through." Eric begged, taking his wife's face into his hands and wiping off her tears. Ariel sniffled and looked anywhere but her husband's face.

"I do understand, but Eric, her life has been one downfall after another. The past three years of her life she's been on and off medication, she has trouble controlling her powers, and all the while she's trying to be a normal teenage girl. I don't want her to grow up as much as you…but, maybe this will be good for her. Maybe she can finally find something stable to hold onto in her life is she get's married. Besides, I thought you said you'd deal with the fact our daughter would marry a bit younger than we planned if it made her happy." Ariel said with a sniffled, wiping away the last of her tears with the back of her hand as she slowly looked down at her husband, who was silent for a moment. Eric sighed deeply, shaking his head in the process.

"That was before she actually had a _ring_ on her finger Ariel." Eric grumbled, his palm smacking his forehead. "And---" Eric was suddenly cut off by a tired voice calling into the room.

* * *

**OOh, I wonder who woke up.....**

**Did you guys have a good holiday? Well, I did! I got my very own laptop, which I have named Shirely. She is slim, fast, and top of the line from laptops! NO MORE SHARING WITH STUPID BIG BROTHERS! WOO HOO! I also got a NOOK! Well, not yet, but I get it in January because when my mom ordered it, it was SOLD OUT! **

**Don't know what the Nook is? It's basically the Kindle, but faster, thinner, and smaller. And it has 3g wifi. Don't know what the kindle is? Well, look up the Nook on google! Trust me, you will get a million results!  
**

**Stupid Eric, he made Ariel cry! BOO!! **

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	25. Okay and Not Okay With Marriage

"Mom?" Harmony yawned, rubbing her eyes as she tried to stay awake. Eric got up off the marble floor quickly, brushing off invisible flecks of dirt off his night clothes.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing up?" Ariel's gentle voice said, as she got up from the vanity chair, worry filling her features. Harmony yawned again, shrugging this time as she tiredly looked at her mother.

"You forgot to give me my pill." Harmony answered, rubbing her tired eyes again as she momentarily winced. She had to take two pills (well three counting THE PILL, but Ariel didn't know about that one) a day to keep her sane. One at breakfast, and one at around 8 or so. But Harmony and John hadn't been at the palace at eight, instead opting for a horseback ride to the tree.

"Ooh, that's right." Ariel's voice said, realization hitting her. Truth be told though, she could have given Harmony her anti-depressant when the girl had come back…but she had just wanted to see if the girl could do without them, for just one night.

"Were you having nightmares again?" Eric's voice asked gently to his red headed daughter, who winced, her eyes closing as she nodded with her pretty features twisting into a grimace. When her eyes reopened, they were filled with tears.

"They wer-were horrible." Harmony tried to keep her voice strong, but in cracked midway through the sentence. Her tears came loose from her eyes and spilled down her cheeks like a waterfall. Her eyes were tortured with the nightmares she had. The girl ran to her father, and Eric held her without complaint his warm arms, letting his daughter sob softly against him.

Harmony didn't just have nightmares about her childhood, or her horrible fourteenth year. No, since she was a witch, and had that thing inside of her that Amaranth had, she also had horrifying nightmares of what Amaranth had done. Killing merpeople in a variety of torture methods. Destroying entire villages with just one temper tantrum. Making sure that history showed her as a hero, not as a savage dictator. Even if Harmony had a normal childhood with Ariel and Eric, and her fourteenth year had been just a year of shy awareness of the new feelings she got when around cute boys, the girl would probably still be on anti-depressants because of the nightmarish scenes that played out before her eyes when she slept.

"It's alright now Harm. Your fine; nothing can hurt you now." Eric murmured to his daughter, leaning down to kiss the top of her red head as she tried to get a better control over her sobs.

"Here honey." Ariel's voice murmured, taking her daughter's hand in her own and placing the pill in it. Harmony pulled away from her father and hiccupped through her sobs, managing to swallow her anti-depressant. Ariel and Eric exchange worried looks.

"Why don't you stay here until you feel tired sweetheart?" Already Harmony was starting to feel tired, but the girl mentioned no such thing to her mother, though Ariel could see it.

"O-O-Okay." Harmony said in a raggedy breath, trying to get control over her voice. The medication usually took about an hour to kick in, but Harmony was exhausted from staying up so late that it would be soon that she fell asleep. Ariel shepherded her daughter towards the bed, making sure Harmony was sitting down so she fell asleep sooner.

It was silent for a moment, both parents listening to Harmony's raggedy breathing, and sharing one long slow look with each other over their daughter's head. It was Harmony who, amazingly, spoke first.

"I'm sorry Dad." The girl said glumly, getting more control over herself now as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Both parents were startled by the sudden sentence, as they looked down at their oldest.

"Sorry? For what Harm?" Eric asked his daughter, bewildered at what she could be saying she was sorry for. It wasn't her fault that she had nightmares; it was something she couldn't control, Eric understood that. And he also knew that if he was the one having nightmares like Harmony, he would have cracked a long time ago, instead of keeping it together like his daughter.

"I-I heard you talking to Mom….about me getting married and stuff." Harmony admitted, resting her chin on her knees. Ariel sent her husband a look that could have literally killed.

"Oh?" Ariel prompted, shooting another look to her husband that was clearly a 'this is your fault' kind of look. Eric grimaced, hoping whatever Harmony said wouldn't get him into too much hot water with his wife.

"I-I really do love John…but I guess I could wait a few more months 'till I'm, like, eighteen to get married." Harmony hesitantly lifted up her head for a moment to look at her father, before quickly putting her head back down on her knees. "That's cool with me."

Ariel's blue eyes bore into Eric's very skull it seemed. She was waiting for him to answer their daughter, and then murder him when he said the wrong thing. But how could he say that he _liked_ the fact that Harmony was going to get married at seventeen? How could he tell his daughter that he liked her fiancée when in truth he wanted to strangle the boy for even _looking_ at the girl! How could he deal with the fact that Harmony was no longer a fourteen year old girl in desperate need of parents who weren't so awful towards her?!

Harmony looked up at her father with her big blue eyes full of hurt and wondering as to what he'd say. Sure, she could just say screw it and get married whether he liked it or not…but, like every girl, she was a sucker when it came to having her father approve of her love interest.

Eric could have groaned. Not the eyes! He couldn't resist giving in to his daughter's wishes with those huge blue eyes of hers. She was definitely her mother's child, that was for sure.

"If you really do love him, then I guess there's no harm in you getting married ahead of schedule." Eric said with a sigh, his shoulders slumping down as he realized he'd just been beat. At the game of trying to keep his daughters from growing up, he was 0 and 2. Well, on the other hand, King Triton was 1 and 7 on keeping his daughters from marrying, so it seemed Eric wasn't doing too bad.

"Really?" Harmony asked anxiously, though her voice was thick was exhaustion. She was already resting her head against the warm covers of the bed…

"Really." Eric said, managing a small smile towards his eldest daughter, who probably didn't even hear because she was already fast asleep. The girl looked almost…like a child when she slept. Angelic and peaceful…though when she was awake she was a hurricane of emotions.

Eric scooped the girl up in his arms gently, and with Ariel at his heels, he set Harmony back down on her bed with a kiss to her forehead. Ariel tucked her daughter in for the second time with a shake of the head to the girl, and a small smile.

"Are you really okay with Harmony's engagement?" Ariel's soft voice asked her husband, while stroking her daughter's loose red locks that spilled over the pillow her head was resting on.

"Do I have a choice?" Eric answered his wife back with a question, and in turn, Ariel looked up at him like a child who was trying hard not to laugh at an adult.

"Nope."

"Then I guess I'm going to have to deal with it." Eric said with a groan to his wife's laugh.

* * *

**All i'm going to say, is that there was foreshadowing in this chapter. That's all i'm going to say. Promise. Shirely promises too. And Eragon says that she knows, 'cept she's not going to say anything. :D **

**Review!**


	26. They Always Fall for the Puppy Dog Pout

"We're snowed in. Perfect." John said with an eye roll the next morning to Harmony---or better yet, his fiancée. Just thinking that he was now engaged to Harmony made his head spin.

"At the house of mouse." Harmony added, a warm, nostalgic smile on her features as she remembered the old movie she used to love. Everyone gave her a quizzical look at that. Sighing, the girl shook her head to signify 'forget it, T.V. doesn't exist here'. "We can still go outside. All you need to do is find a window and climb out of it." Harmony noted in her voice, as she felt John's hands slip around her waist.

"Climb through a window?! Harmony are you mad?! Why would you climb through a window?!" Melody's bewildered voice asked, her expression in clear disbelief at her sister. Harmony only had to look up to realize that everyone else---besides John and Coral---had the exact same expression as Melody.

"Um…because there's snow outside, and last time I checked, snow doesn't kill you." Harmony answered with a shrug, her blue eyes searching those of the people before her in complete wonderment that they were questioning her. It was just snow for goodness sake!

"It's a blizzard out there sweetie." Margaret said, her features wondering what on earth Harmony was talking about. "You wouldn't last ten minutes in that cold even if you got out through a window." Margaret's voice was gentle, like a mother, but it also had a hint of 'are you serious?!' laced into it. Harmony snorted at Margaret's words.

"I've faced negative degree weather in nothing but a thin nightgown before; trust me, a blizzard is nothing compared to that." Both Eric and Ariel winced momentarily at the memory Harmony brought up. Melody looked at her feet---well, tried to look at her feet---remembering what had happened three years ago. Coral felt an immense surge of guilt come over her. Lance, Margaret, and Leroy were suddenly silent, all of them knowing the story of Harmony's twisted life from Melody. Only John had no idea about what Harmony was talking about.

"You did?" The boy asked incredulously. Harmony shrugged, holding back a wince as she remembered those nights she'd been out there. She'd been so cold…so lonely…she'd wanted to cry, but who would listen besides her stuffed animal?

"Yeah. It wasn't too much fun, let's just say." Harmony managed to choke out an off laugh at that. John narrowed his eyes, knowing something was being kept from him at Harmony's laugh, but he said nothing aloud. He'd get Harmony to tell him what she really meant when they were alone together. Speaking of which, his family was starting to make him feel a little claustrophobic….

"Want to come with me to the library?" John asked the girl, who's face picked up at just the thought of a room full of books.

"Sure!" Harmony enthusiastically replied, fully ready to follow John to the library. She was stopped though, by her mother's answer to her answer.

"Uh uh. You can't go Harmony, we have to discuss things about the engagement ball tomorrow!" Ariel's voice stopped both Harmony and John, as both of them cringed and turned around.

"There's going to be an engagement ball?!" They both spluttered at the same time, their jaws dropping to the floor in full shock and horror as the words started to sink in.

"Oh, the both of you make it sound like it's the end of the world." Margaret brushed off both Harmony and John's attitude with a simple eye roll towards them.

"It is the end of the world." Harmony groaned, pushing back her a loose strand of her red hair behind her ear. "I have a soccer game tomorrow. I can't miss it, or else Manny will rip my heart out while I'm still alive, and eat it in front of me so the last thing I see is him laughing!" Harmony groaned again, while the adults---and that includes Melody---rolled their eyes.

"Who's Manny?" John wondered, turning Harmony around to face him. He wasn't jealous---mostly because he knew that Harmony loved him---but he was still curious who was making death threats against his fiancée.

"Our coach." Harmony answered with a slight grimace. "I'll be running suicides until I die if I miss tomorrow's game. And I'm totally serious about that too." Harmony said with a groan, wincing at just the thought of running suicides across the entire soccer field. She loved to run, but even she had her boundary's on when to stop.

"Then go to the game. Maybe then the ball will be canceled…." John's voice said, dropping the hint to his mother that he really didn't want to go to any ball. Margaret shot him a glare for taking Harmony's side in all this.

"Stop being so melodramatic Harmony. I'm sure if you explain why you can't go your coach will understand." Melody's voice said to her sister, who looked at her with incredulous eyes. Her coach would think she was officially loony if she told him she missed a game because of an engagement ball that was thrown in the Westland palace in honor of her new engagement to their prince.

"He'll have to understand that there are more important things in your life than just kicking a dirty ball around in the mud." Margaret said with a shudder, thinking about just getting filthy like that. Harmony groaned at the thought of not going to her game.

"Don't be so down Harm. It'll be fun, you'll see!" Cora said with a giddy laugh, exited for the ball tomorrow. What should she wear?! How should she do her hair?! Oh it sounded like so much fun! "And besides, it's not like you can even make it to the game if it's during the ball…" Coral pointed out, as Harmony shot her a look.

"What time's the game? Maybe you can make it in time for the ball…" Lance wondered thoughtfully, offering up a solution. Though, Melody didn't quite like the fact that her husband was taking Harmony's side in all of this, and she made her point clear by stepping ever so accidentally on his foot. Lance winced.

"Um…six. So lemme see….it'll end around….7:30? We'll mercy rule Lincoln by the second half…so I'll definitely make in time. Sweet! Good thinkin' Lansing Michigan." Harmony said, brightening up at the thought of going to her game after all, but ignoring Lance's groan at her nickname for him.

"That gives you only thirty minutes to get ready for the ball though!" Ariel whined, feeling like a child but not really caring. She'd seen Harmony after a soccer game before, so she knew how dirty the girl got.

"But I have to go to the game. I'm the captain of the team, and after ten suicides across the entire soccer field, my legs feel like Jell-O--er, I mean, pudding." Pudding was the exact opposite of Jell-O, but how could Harmony explain what Jell-O meant to everyone?

"Your captain of the team?" Leroy questioned Harmony, who automatically nodded with a shrug. Well, she was going to be a future ruler someday…it only made sense that she was captain of the soccer team. But he also did wonder what exactly soccer was. He knew the object of the game was to kick a ball into the other team's goal…but he didn't know much more than that about the game.

"Uh-huh. Team voted me and Em captains." Harmony said with a shrug, hoping that that was the end of the questioning about her soccer position.

"If she's captain of the team, then she can't just not show up to her game Margaret." Leroy said to his wife, who groaned in, knowing now that she was slowly being beaten. He sent a wink to Harmony, a sign that he was on her side of all of this.

"Leroy has a point Ariel." Eric said to his wife, who groaned also, knowing for sure that there was no way around it. She'd been beaten at her own game. Damn her husband for taking Harmony's side.

"And besides, you can fuss over her for half an hour when she comes back Mel." Lance pointed out to his wife, who also gave a groan. Why did all the men have to take Harmony's side in this?!

Harmony gave Ariel, Coral, Melody, and Margaret her best puppy dog pout ever. All for of them groaned, knowing full well that Harmony was irresistible to refuse with when she gave them that pout.

"Oh fine!" Ariel threw her hands up in the air with a dramatic sigh at her daughter. "You can go to your soccer game." Ariel said with another sigh, as Harmony pumped her fist in the air.

"Yes!" The girl said, laughing as she knew she'd beaten all four of them, and had all them men side with her on this without even using her magic. Okay, well, maybe she used a little bit of it to persuade them all onto her side, but then again, if she hadn't she might be stuck here tomorrow and not be going to her game.

"Library, now." John whispered in Harmony's ear, seeing an escape as the wife's started scolding their sheepish husband's for siding with Harmony, and Coral was just laughing at them all. Harmony didn't even blink as she slid her hand into John's and let him slip her away to the library.

* * *

**Let's play a game. It's called the reviewing game. When I post up a chapter, you review it! *GASP* I know, it's a very, very, very easy game that for some reason, none of you seem to understand how to play. So let me go over the rules. You finish reading the chapter. You click on the button that says review. You type in what you thought of the chapter. And then you press the button that says 'send review'. I know, it's soooo easy. So I expect you all to win. Or else. *cue scary music***

**Oh! I almost forgot! My soccer coaches name really IS Manny. And yes, he has threatened before to, and I quote "rip your heart out while your still alive and eat it in front of you so the last thing you see is me smiling". That's my coach for you! **


	27. Library Antics

"Ah, books. My best friends." Harmony laughed lightly in a carefree way, her fingers skimming the shelves of books happily.

"And I thought Dog's were the best friends to ever have." John teased, and Harmony's bubbly laugh sounded again, her eyes shining as she look them away from the books to look at her fiancée.

"'Inside of a dog, it's dark. Outside of a dog are books.'" Harmony quoted, grinning as John laughed and shook his head at her. Harmony turned back around and let her fingers skim through the book covers on the shelves. The only books from her world that were in this world were the works of Shakespeare. How? She had no clue. But, she didn't care anyway, as her fingers skimmed through the books, most of the unrecognizable to her.

"Harmony?" John questioned slowly, pronouncing the girl's name in that heart stopping way of his. Harmony didn't bother turning around for fear her knees would turn into Jell-O at the sight of him.

"Mhm?" The girl answered, standing on her tippy toes to look at a book that was on one of the higher shelves. Extending her arm, she tried to reach the book without any assistance.

"Here, let me get that for you." John said, easily reaching for the book and handing it down to Harmony, when he saw she couldn't reach. She smiled almost magically at him, her blue eyes dancing when they looked into his warm brown ones. "Charizard, The Dragon." John frowned as he read the title, not understanding as he looked up at Harmony, who blushed light pink. "Your interested in the dragon that terrorized Westland for over thirty years?" John wondered, and Harmony's blush deepened.

"Well…do you want to know the truth?" Harmony sighed, not feeling like lying to John. He nodded energetically, wondering in his mind what Harmony meant. "When I was growing up, every morning my brother and I would…watch…how do I say this? Um…let's just say a puppet show of sorts. That's the only way I know how to explain it." Harmony said, twisting a lock of her red hair around her finger. John's brows furrowed, and he nodded his head slowly to signify he was listening. "Well…the particular puppet show was set in a world where…the animals are called Pokemon, and their sort of weird because they all have special powers. Originally there were a hundred and fifty of the Pokemon, and out of all of them…my favorite was the one called Charizard. He was like a dragon who's special power was that he could fly and breath fire…but he was really stubborn and full of himself too. I just saw the title of that book…and I just thought…" Harmony trailed off there, her face a full on blush now as she sheepishly looked up at John.

"You were just reminded of your childhood." John filled in, and Harmony nodded energetically, happy that he understood. "Well, I can't say I blame you. I look at this book and I remember all the times Father would say if I didn't behave, Charizard would come and eat me." John said with a slight chuckled, remembering his childhood. But, noticing the quizzical look on Harmony's face, he smiled a little and started to explain. "Charizard was a ferocious dragon that terrorized Westland for over thirty years way back when. I think it was my Great-Great-Great-Grandfather who finally destroyed the monster."

Harmony blinked once, twice, three times, in shock. There were dragons? What? She knew that this world contained some magical creatures she'd been told were all fiction as a child, but dragons? And was it really that much of a small world that there was a Pokemon show with Charizard as a dragon, but Westland had a real one?

"That's…interesting. I never knew dragons existed." Harmony mulled over, a wry smile on her features. John gave the girl a shocked look for a moment, before pulling himself back together on the knowledge that her other world had long since disposed of their magic. Still, the boy never got the chance to answer because it was that moment that the library doors were pushed open by…a type of animal?

The animal ran towards John and made the boy stumble a bit backwards, but he quickly regained his balance with a laugh. Leaning down, he started to pet…a unicorn?!

"I haven't seen you all day!" John laughed as his face was licked by the creature. "How're ya doing?" Well, it was definitely a girl creature, that was for sure, Harmony figured out…but a unicorn? Weren't those…non existent? Dragons, faeries, merpeople, she could deal with, but unicorns?!

"Harmony, this is Uni. Uni, Harmony. There, I'm glad your acquainted." John said with another laugh, looking up at his fiancée…who didn't seem all that eager to look at the unicorn. Actually, in truth, she was quite scared of it.

The unicorn was only about three feet high. It was all alabaster, excepting it's black hooves. Uni tossed it's hair aside from it's face, revealing a clear horn growing out from it's forehead that almost looked as though it was sparkling. The unicorn had yellow eyes as it looked at Harmony inquisitively, wondering if this was friend or foe. It's pure white hair had a loose braid stuck in the middle of it, as the creature actually had sparkles in it's hair. Sparkles! Like, glitter almost. When the unicorn sniffed and realized Harmony was a friend, it immediately gave out a whinny, and hurried towards the girl so she could be petted. Harmony backed away further from the creature in response.

"Harmony? She won't hurt you. She's very friendly with people." John's gentle voice said to his fiancée, seeing her fear. Shireland had no unicorns, so therefore Harmony had probably never seen one before. So John was going to show her now, and let her adjust to Uni.

Harmony swallowed a glob of spit, and warily extended a hand---mostly because John was suddenly right by her side and had extended it out for her. The girl noticed that she was kneeling on the floor so that she was Uni's height, but she had no recollection about how that happened. Looking up at John, his expression was completely innocent…maybe even too innocent. Uni trotted over to the girl and licked her extended hand playfully, her yellow eyes shining for someone to play with.

"I'm not worried about it licking me…I'm afraid of that horn." Harmony had a thing with sharp object. A very, very, very horrible memory arose at just the mere thought of them.

"She couldn't hurt you with her horn even if she tried." John laughed, reaching out to brush away some of the unicorn's hair to show the horn more fully to Harmony. "This is the western breed of unicorns; their much smaller and easier to tame than their eastern cousins in Glauerhaven. Plus, their horn are so dulled that they can't even penetrate skin. See?" John tapped his finger to top of Uni's horn, and then showed Harmony the lack of blood.

"A-Are you sure it…_she_ won't hurt me?" Harmony asked, biting her lip and looking at the creature worriedly with her blue eyes. This would make an excellent 'What I did during my Winter Vacation' story though, the girl's mind thought as an off note.

"Positive. Trust me Harmony, I would never put you in danger." John said, his brown eyes completely serious towards his fiancée. Warily, Harmony extended her hand out to the unicorn…and started to slowly pet it. The unicorn apparently liked this as it came closer towards Harmony and rubbed it's cheek against her shoulder to prove it's point.

"It's…kind of ticklish." Harmony said giggling, and petting the unicorn more easily now. She felt like a five year old at a petting zoo, petting the giant pink, or whatever she'd petted back then.

"See, I knew you'd warm up to her." John said with a smile, as Harmony smiled widely back at him. "Uni, you best be going back to Mother now." John addressed the unicorn, not caring if he sounded stupid or not, because he knew Harmony's wouldn't either.

With a lick to both John and Harmony's face, the small unicorn whinnied and trotted out of the library back towards her mistress, in hopes of possibly getting a sugar cube or too. John helped Harmony back up, noticing how she seemed…a little shocked, but still glowing.

"You know what?" Harmony asked suddenly, a bit close too John. Not that he minded or anything.

"What?" John prompted, tucking away one of the loose strands that had come apart from the girl's long thick braid.

"You never did finish talking to me that night in the library." Harmony murmured, feeling John's warm arms suddenly around her. She looked up at him with a small mischievous grin.

"I didn't, did I?" John murmured, loving the feel of pure joy just being around Harmony gave him. "Well then, let me finish." John leaned down as Harmony leaned upwards, waiting for her kiss. Their lips brushed against each other for a moment, almost about to kiss….

"There you are! Your not getting out of discussing your engagement ball that easily Harmony!" Ariel's voice said, as the doors of the library banged open and the woman forcibly dragged her daughter away from the intimate embrace of her fiancée. As Harmony was dragged out of the library door, she managed to mouth silently to John 'help me!', with a pitiful expression on her face as she realized her mother had ruined her almost kiss.

"FMFrigginL!" Harmony groaned, still being dragged down the hallway as it kicked into her system that hey, she was now going to be forced into panning a party that she didn't want, with people that she couldn't give a damn about.

FML to the extreme.


	28. If I'm Right Here, Why Do You Say 'She?

"I hope it stops snowing tomorrow, else no one will be able to make it to the ball." Margaret said, worry in her voice as she looked out one of the giant windows.

"Don't worry." Melody said dismissively, her feet resting on top of Lance. She'd been wanting to do something all morning, but Margaret and Ariel had plaintively refused for her to do anything but sit down and rest, which kind of made Melody a little mad. She wondered upon how many times she'd done the same to Harmony though, and instant guilt filled her up. "If everyone get's snowed in, they could just climb out through a window, right Harm?" Melody laughed--along with everyone else in the room besides John who rolled his eyes. Harmony sent an icy glare to her sister.

"You know, it's ironic that the first four letters of my name are 'harm' and that's exactly what I want to do to you right now _Mel_." Harmony shot back with some force behind her voice. Melody just rolled her eyes at her sister, and opened her mouth for a reply.

"Girls." Ariel's voice reprimanded her two daughters, who in turn rolled their eyes at their mother for treating them like seven year olds instead of seventeen year olds.

"You sound like Em when you say that." Melody noted thoughtfully, before turning her head in the direction of her sister. "How _is_ Emma? I haven't seen or spoken to her in ages. How did she take the news that you were engaged?" Melody wondered, as she winced momentarily when she felt the baby kick her stomach just a bit too hard.

"Oh no." Harmony groaned, covering her face with her hands. How had she forgotten to tell her best friend that she was engaged?! Em was going to kill her for not saying anything earlier…and she was also going to kill Harmony on another small detail.

"What?" John asked, generally concerned as he tore Harmony's hands away from her face gently. Her blue eyes looked up at him as her face was set in a grimace, as though she was in pain.

"I forgot to tell Em." Harmony groaned again, before looking up at her mother. "Can I use my cell to call her? Or am I still banned from using it?" Not that Harmony cared either way because she would call Emma…and she would be dead after the phone conversation.

"You can tell her when were back home Harmony. It's not the end of the world if you make her wait." Ariel said with an eye roll towards her daughter, not bothering to hide the disgust in her tone. You would think that in three years Emma and Ariel would put aside their differences for Harmony, right? Well, your thinking wrong. They were both _barely_ civil towards one another. Ariel thought Emma was too low-class and a horrible influence on her daughter. Emma thought Ariel was too uptight about 'social standings' and that it was her fault that Harmony was so messed up.

"And get killed?" Harmony questioned with a snort. "I'm going to call her right now." Harmony said, muttering a word under her breath and having her phone appear in her hand. Everyone from the Wetland side of the family gasped---everyone besides John who was more curious towards the device in Harmony's hand. "A word to the wise Mom; when hiding something, don't put it under the bed." Harmony said with an eye roll to Ariel's furious expression at her daughter.

Harmony quickly dialed her best friends number, and put the phone to her ear, ignoring the questioning look that seemed to be on everyone's face---that is, Everyone from the Westland side of the family.

"Em?" Harmony waited a moment before a full grin broke out onto her face when she heard her friend's voice. She could softly hear Melody explaining what a phone was to the Westland royals, but Harmony paid her no mind as she was just relieved to hear Emma after so long. "What's up Chiquita?" Harmony wondered, listening to Emma's voice talk about how she was going clubbing soon. Then it was Harmony's turn to speak.

"Um…funny story about what's up with me. See…um…don't get mad or anything…but I'm kind of engaged now." Harmony said sheepishly. She winced as she heard a scream sound from the other side of the phone.

"O.M.F.G! I'll be there in two sec's! Emma's furious voice said from the other line, making Harmony wince twice at the tone her friend was using, and also when she heard the phone abruptly turn off.

"What's wrong?" John asked, seeing Harmony distressed look. The girl felt her throat closing up, but she shook her head anyway in a no fashion, though she knew no one believed her.

A low rumbling noise suddenly filled the room. The wasn't as though the room was shaking, or that anything was happening except for that low rumbling noise. And when the noise stopped, everyone was looking up….at Emma. It seemed as though everyone's eyes bulged out of their skulls and their mouths dropped a few inches when they saw not her---but what she was wearing.

Emma had on a strapless dress that reached to her upper thigh. The top of the dress was tight against the girl's skin, almost bodice like. The bodice had green undertones to the black slashes that went across it, and the skirt was frilly, but the short kind of black frilly. And to top it all off, the girl was wearing a pair of ripped tights and silver high heels.

"Yes, I know, I look amazingly sexy, now please stop staring." Emma said with a dramatic sigh and eye roll towards everyone as they stared speechless at her sudden appearance…and the dress she was wearing. Suddenly, it seemed as though everyone was averting their eyes, looking anywhere but at Emma and her *ahem* _dress_.

"Kat _please_ don't tell me your serious about being engaged. _Please_." Emma said, staring straight at her friend who was sliding out of John's warm arms and standing up across from her best friend. Harmony sighed, but nodded all the same at her friend.

"I'm serious about it." Harmony said with a sigh, starting to bite her nails.

"Your friggin' _seventeen_ though! You can't be engaged!" Emma said, her brown eyes completely outraged at the fact her best friend was engaged at such a young age.

"I married when I was sixteen and so did Melody. Seventeen isn't that big of a number, _Emma_." Ariel had to literally grind her teeth together as she forced Emma's name out of her mouth, and kept her tone civil.

"Yes, but that's because _you_ were being a stupid teenager who thought the first hot guy you ever saw and had a crush on was the love of your life. And Melody was screwing around behind your back---well, actually _on_ her back, but no time for details---and got pregnant at sixteen." Emma answered with a snort, not bothering to look at Ice Queen or Melody. Ariel's fist was already balling up and she felt Eric suddenly holding her hand a bit tighter than he originally was. "Kat your not pregnant or stupid enough to believe that your first crush is your future husband. Don't get married at seventeen. Finish high school, go to college, have _fun_. Be a wild teenager for a few years and _then_ settle down with hottie over there." Emma jabbed a thumb in the direction of John, before looking back at her best friend with pleading eyes.

"She's not _going_ to university once high school is finished. She's staying home and learning how to be a future ruler." Eric answered, grinding his teeth together so he didn't spit out what he really want to say to Emma. He mostly put up with the girl for Harmony and Melody and Coral's sake, but he didn't know if he could do it for much longer.

"Oh cut the umbilical cord already! She's not some type of baby who needs Mommy and Daddy to control her life." Emma hissed through her teeth at Ariel and Eric. Lance and Melody shot each other worried looks, hoping this wouldn't end up bad.

"I will not tolerate such language to our guests!" Leroy stormed to Emma, who in turn looked up at him with a quizzical expression. Who was he, Emma asked silently to her friend using her expression. Harmony just locked her Jaw and refused to look at Emma.

"She's going to do what her parents tell her to do, not what some child says! And further more, what gives you the right to be here in my home, and disrespect my guests?!" Margaret hissed out towards Emma, sticking up for the royal family of Shireland.

"Um…who are you again?" Emma asked, bewildered at some strange person hissing at her and calling her a child.

"The Queen of Westland." Margaret's chilled voice usually sent fear into her subjects hearts when she was so angry as to use such a tone. But, all that did was make Emma snort.

"Sorry, I'm American. We believe in democracy, not monarchy, so excuse me if I say this incorrectly but, _shut_ _up_, your friggin majesty." Emma said, her eyes shining with a smirk as she saw everyone but Melody, John, Harmony, and Coral's face go red with anger.

"Don't speak to my mother like that!" Lance defended, his eyes storming as he looked at Emma. "And you have no control over what she feels like doing, your not her mother!" Lance thought himself pretty nice for defending his mother. But his efforts were rewarded by Melody's foot kicking him in the side for talking to her best friend like that.

"Lance, shut up." John said, shooting an icy expression towards his brother. Strangely enough, John didn't mind Emma. The girl was just speaking everything that was on her mind; why did everyone have to over react?

"Ditto." Coral said, her green eyes staring Lance down as he received another kick in the side from Melody. "Only she can make her life decisions, not her Mom."

"Coral is completely right." Melody backed up her cousin, and Emma too. "She's not just a child with no common sense, she's almost an adult." Melody pointed out, feeling kind of proud of herself for finally sticking up for her sister. The babble of arguing voices arose, everyone talking at once to each other, and even a shout of two coming across.

"Be quiet everyone." Harmony tried calmly, taking in a deep breath like her yoga instructor had told her to do. There was no answer to her words as the arguing arose. "If no one heard me before, I said please be quiet." Harmony's voice held a little trace of anger in it as her voice was louder that time, but no one heard because they were too busy arguing. "I said," Harmony started, locking her jaw in anger when she realized no one was listening to her. That's when she really got pissed off. "SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP!" There was an immediate silence that followed the scream that came from Harmony's lips. The girl took in a deep breath, let it slowly through clenched teeth.

"Okay, number one, _she_ is in the room right now, so don't talk about me like I'm not here." Harmony said angrily, her eyes suddenly flashing in that dangerous way of hers. Harmony's voice angered some as she turned to all of her family. "Two, Em, I don't need your permission to get married. And three, let's get one thing straight. _I_ decide what _I_ want in _my_ life without any of you saying what _I_ should do." Seeing the not comprehending looks on everyone's faces, Harmony felt all of her former courage leave her as her shoulders slumped and her face became the very picture of 'why me?'

"You know what? Screw _all _of you for trying to control my life. I thought maybe being engaged I would get rid of all my problems." Harmony gave a bitter laugh at that. "I guess I was wrong." The girl sighed heavily then, shaking her head, and walking out the door.

She disappeared from Westland the minute the door closed behind her.


	29. Coming, Second Thoughts, and No Secrets

"Where could she _be_ at this time at night?!" Ariel wondered to herself, pacing back and forth and biting her lip in concern for her oldest daughter. She knew Harmony would return soon, she always did after a fight with her parents, but that never stopped Ariel from worrying.

"The elementary school playground, Miller's Pond, the graveyard, her old house, the high school, the half burned library, the 'Plex, the hill, the woods, _or_ main street." Emma's glum voice said, resting her chin in her hands as her eyes looked up at Ariel who had stopped pacing and was now staring angrily at the girl.

"Then why aren't you looking for her?!" Eric could have shouted it out, and it wouldn't have bothered Emma one bit. If Harmony was in her other world, and Emma could go to that world, why wasn't she looking for Harmony?!

"Kat usually likes to be alone when she's thinking. She'd kill me if I went after her. And besides, she's never gone for more than three hours." Emma answered glumly, sighing as she blinked off her exhaustion. When she'd gotten dressed tonight, she thought she'd be going clubbing with Collin, her new boyfriend of the week. She had no idea that she'd spend the night at some random castle worrying about her friend.

"Why do you call her Kat?" Lance asked, generally confused and trying to lift up the somber mood, if only a little. Emma smiled a thin, humorless smile at him for that question.

"Before she was the teenage princess Harmony, she was just an average kid named Katherine---or Kat." Emma answered, rubbing her eyes as she shook her head.

"What was…she like…as Katherine?" John asked quietly, wonderment in his voice. He knew that Harmony was from the other world---or realm you could say---where everyone had destroyed the magic and now thought all things were make believe. But, that's all he knew. Harmony never spoke about being Katherine, the normal teenage girl.

"She was…like she is today, I guess, but without so much sarcasm or problems and much more cursing. And…she was impossible to control. The kid could never sit still for more than a minute. But I think the best thing about her that she doesn't have anymore…she loved to dance." Emma said with a small laugh, remembering Harmony back then.

"Dance? But…she hates dancing." Melody said, her head suddenly looking up at Emma with a strange expression. Emma gave her a thin, humorless smile at her naivety.

"Not ballroom dance…I mean, she used to love to freestyle. She'd go crazy, doing all these weird moves, laughing and mouthing along to the words---that was one thing about her too. She was shy about singing, so hardly anyone knew that she could. When she'd sing, she'd do it loud, out of tune, and just horrible….but somehow, it'd always make you laugh and sing along too, just as bad." Emma said, a nostalgic smile on her lips.

"She was shy? Somehow, I can't imagine that…" Margaret said, her voice filled with wonderment. She'd known Melody as a child, and Melody had been a cute little thing always eager to play, never once shy. But Harmony, shy?

"She was the shy, kind of quiet girl around most kids in our class. But, when you got her around her friends, damn, we couldn't get her to shut up. It was a weird thing to see, the shy quiet girl who always got in trouble." Emma said thoughtfully.

"Shy and quiet." Leroy mulled over, grinning as he thought of that. Harmony didn't seem like the type of girl to be quiet---ever, or even the littlest bit shy.

"At least the part about her never shutting up hasn't changed." Coral said with a snort, rolling her eyes. If Harmony had duct tape over her mouth, she would _still_ talk.

"Why don't you want her to get married?" John asked suddenly, his voice wondering politely. He had nothing personal against Emma, but he would like to know what she had against him and Harmony getting married. Emma sighed heavily, pushing back a stray lock of her blonde hair.

"It's not that I don't want her to get married….but…she's seventeen. In our world, girls usually don't get married at seventeen---unless their like, pregnant or something." Emma's brown eyes turned to Melody at that, who blushed lightly and gave a sheepish smile. "But like…her life has been crap so far…I thought she'd be able to go to college, go to frat party's, get so drunk that she couldn't remember what happened the night before, not get enough sleep because of finals, studying….you know, normal college life."

"She didn't even send out a…oh what is it called? A…application, yes that's it, to a university. She needs to stay at home and understand how to run a kingdom, not spend all her time studying and partying." Ariel said dismissively, waving her hand as though that was the end of it. Emma looked up at the woman with a hint of anger in her eyes.

"So you don't want her to go to college? At all? Even if that's what she wants?" Emma asked, her jaw locking and her eyes flashing at Ice Queen. Ariel rolled her eyes in response.

"She wants to be married and stay at home. She doesn't _want_ to go to college." Eric answered, knowing that to be true. Harmony didn't want to study anymore than she had too, and she wanted to stay home and learn how to rule a kingdom.

"Ohmygod." Emma said under her breath, almost rolling her eyes. How clueless were Harmony's parents? Then again, the girl should have told them long ago that she'd been accepted into a high profile college.

"Are you both blind, or do you not know you daughter at all?" John questioned, his face set in a 'are you serious you don't know this' expression. Emma looked at him for a moment, before it dawned on her that Harmony must have told…her fiancée. Ugh. The words burned in Emma's mouth.

"What do you mean Jonathan?" Leroy questioned his son, not liking that tone of voice he was using towards the King and Queen of Shireland. Everyone but Emma looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I mean that Harmony was accepted into a University, and she wants to go to it, but she's been afraid to tell you for fear you wouldn't understand!" John blew up, blurting out the big secret Harmony had told him, before his eyes went wide at what he'd blurted out.

"What?" Ariel questioned, fully confused now. "No…that's impossible. Harmony said she hadn't even sent out a single application…and she knows better than to be afraid of telling us something. You have to be mistaken." Ariel said, nervously playing with her wedding ring as she had that awful feeling inside of her that maybe he _wasn't _mistaken.

"He's not." Emma's voice suddenly seemed tired…and small. "Scouts saw her playing soccer at one of our games…and they offered her and me…full scholarships to Princeton---one of the best college's out there." Emma said quietly, looking up at Ariel and Eric with a slight grimace. They seemed utterly shocked. Well, double the shock from when they found out Harmony had been accepted into college, and you'd have how shocked they were when Harmony came walking into the room as though it was no big deal.

"Are you done talking about 'she' and ready to talk to _me_? Or should I just go back to Amherst? I could always hit the clubs…" Harmony trailed off, facing everyone with her arms on her hips and her lips pursed out in annoyance and some anger. The redness on her face from when she'd been crying still hadn't gone down, so everyone could see the fact that's she'd been sobbing.

"Oh Harmony." Ariel sighed, walking over to her daughter and hugging the girl tightly. "You know we're all sorry." And I'm confused, Ariel thought to herself, before pushing those thoughts away as she handed Harmony over to Eric for a tight hug.

"You don't know how relieved I am that your safe. Don't disappear so suddenly Harm; you know it always panics your mother." Eric teased, hiding down his deeper feelings of confusion. Harmony hadn't told them about college? But…why? She could tell them anything! They would have listened to her if she talked to them! So why did she hide it?

"_Me_?! You were no better than I was Eric!" Ariel shot back, forcing a playful grin onto her features, when all she really wanted to do was frown and ask Harmony why on earth she hadn't told them about going to University!

"I knew you wouldn't stay past three hours." Emma said with a tired grin to her friend, getting up off the couch she'd been sitting on next to John and hugging her friend, before straightening up her dress. "Preggo over there wouldn't shut up though. 'Where's Harmony?' 'Where did she go to?' 'What should we do?' Ugh." Emma said with an eye roll to Harmony, who managed to crack a small smile at her best friend.

"At least I wasn't naming all the places she could be at, and not going to those places to find her!" Melody protested, straining to stand up so that she could hug Harmony. She was pushed back by Margaret though, who tsked at the girl, a sign for her to sit down and stay down.

"Yeah, yeah." Emma said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "As you can see, this is a perfect example of a pregnant woman who's hormones have seeped into the brain and destroyed all the cells within it." Emma said, pointing to Melody, who giggled despite her 'hey!'

"In any case, we're just glad your safe and sound dear." Margaret said to Harmony, hugging her for a moment, before letting her go back to John. Still, lingering thoughts about Harmon's troubled past haunted Margaret. Was her son sure that he wanted a…not so normal bride? It wasn't fitting for a young princess to go flitting off at all hours of the night after a fight with her parents---just imagine a fight with her husband! And their children! How would their children be raised if Harmony was a witch who refused to give up her other world?!

"Want to talk about it?" John whispered into Harmony's ear, wrapping his arms around her waist. He only barely caught the 'maybe tomorrow' coming from Harmony's almost inaudible lips.

"After much review on the play, the calling on the field stands." Emma announced, coming up next to Harmony with a grin as she talked football and the girl groaned. If there was one sport Harmony despised the most---besides climbing the rope in gym class, but whether that was a sport or not no one really knew---it was football.

"Your still not okay with me getting married?" Harmony asked with a slight grimace and a sigh, her shoulders slumping as she realized her friend maybe just couldn't understand what she felt like when she was around John.

"You didn't let me finish." Emma said with a shrug, before taking on an announcer voice again. "Emma will be charged with one thump to the head penalty and will be forced to accept Harmony's decision." Harmony wasted no time in using her one thump to the head penalty. Emma winced slightly, before shrugging it off.

"I've g2g. See you at the game tomorrow, 'k?" Emma said, and Harmony nodded with a sly grin that turned into a smirk. Emma rolled her eyes at her friend's whateverness before stepping back a step and tugging twice on her bracelet to go home. Harmony had updated Emma's bracelet since the girl's were fourteen---now Emma could go where Harmony was if she tugged on her bracelet, or go back home if she tugged it twice.

"We should all get some rest." Leroy acknowledged, realizing that it was almost midnight. Midnight! They'd waited three hours for Harmony to come back…John better count his lucky stars that his father had taken a liking to the girl and could deal with her keeping him up late.

"Mhm hm. After all, tomorrow is a busy day!" Margaret ended cheerfully, smiling brightly at everyone. Only Harmony and John looked at each other before groaning as though it was something horrible.

Which, it actually was.

* * *

**: * ( I'm sad. Very sad. Want to know why? Well, first because xJadeRainx still hasn't updated. Second, because it seems as though none of you understand how the review button on this story works. And third, and most heart breaking of them all, the new little One-shot/story thingy I did called Altered Reality, only got one review. If you guys didn't like it, that's okay with me, but please, at least review and tell me what I did wrong with it. I won't get mad, honest, I won't. I just want to know if it was good or not, and only xJadeRainx has reviewed it so far and that's really heartbreaking because I wanted to at least get some reviews that told me whether it was AMAZING or HORRIBLE or in between. :*( Eragon and Shirley are both very saddened by this. **

**Anyway, Emma came back! YAY! But uh oh, there was a fight, Harmony disapeared, and then Emma started spilling details about Katherine, not Harmony. And John told Ariel and Eric about Harmony getting accepted into college (i used the college Princeton because I thought it was a funny type of ironic!) and then Harmony came back and Margaret was having doubts about Harmony being a good bride for her son, and ARiel and Eric were confused, and Emma finally said she'd deal with the fact Harmony was going to get married. ANd then Margaret brought up the fact that there was the ball tomorrow and Harmony and John groaned. WHEW! The chapter in a nutshell! ALot of things happened, so I just wanted to make sure I got all of them down! **


	30. Even Soccer Brings Back Memories

The morning next was like any other morning before the Ball---crazy. By now news of the elder Princess of Shireland and the Prince of Westland had reached all corners of every kingdom, and it seemed everyone had a word to say about it. As people mulled around in the market place in Westland, they gossiped about how wonderful it was that John had finally found a princess. Meanwhile back in Shireland, the people were just utterly shocked that the Princess---who had thrown a tantrum when finding out she was going to Westland for her winter break---had managed to snag a Prince while over there and was engaged.

"Wow." John's voice went about two octaves higher than it normally would as he saw how Harmony was dressed. Her dark blue with accented white soccer shorts only reached up to her upper thigh, but the black under armor sliding shorts she had underneath her soccer shorts stopped at about two inches from her knee. Her soccer jacket was pulled loosely around her shoulders, and peeking out from her dark blue with white accents jacket was her soccer jersey. Her red hair was pulled back into a high pony tail with a thick hair tie and was all held in place by a black headband on the top of her head. Her dark blue socks with white on the top of them were rolled down to the ankle, showing her bare legs. Looking at the family who were staring at her in shock, she grinned tiredly because she'd only woken up a half hour ago.

"I know, my shorts are super long. I already had to roll them up like five times but their still not normal." Harmony said with a rather adorable pout and a sigh, sitting next to John on the couch. He quickly regained himself and grinned at Harmony lazily, wrapping his arm around her.

"I don't think five times is enough. You should roll them up higher." John said with a cocky grin, despite the fact that his parents and brother both turned a shade of light pink at his words. Harmony only laughed it off, and snuggled closer into him.

"Ahem. You _meant_ that my daughter should roll her 'shorts' lower, correct Jonathan?" Eric's steely voice rang out, his eyes blazing at the boy for using such vulgar language to his daughter. John quickly sat up straight, breaking the gaze he had with Harmony's eyes as he gulped and looked at Eric.

"Yes sir. That's what I meant." John said quickly, and sheepishly, while Harmony shot her father a look that said 'stay out of my life'. Her mother, in turn, shot her a look that said 'ROLL YOUR SHORTS DOWN' and Eric just stared murderously at John.

"What's your…er, jersey number?" Margaret inquired politely, trying to break the tense silence in the sitting room. For now, she was taking a break from all the preparations of the engagement ball. But soon she'd have to get back to everything, and make sure it was in _perfect _order….

"Nine." Harmony said with a small grin to herself, as she fell back against the couch without feeling John. Pouting rather adorably at him for leaving her all alone on the couch, she sighed and settled herself into the cushions.

"Why nine?" Lance asked curiously, not understanding the significance of the number. A bright smile lit up on Harmony's face, almost like the fourth of july kind of smile.

"Because, it was triple nine. The ninth month, his number was nine, and…" The smile slowly started to fade from Harmony's lips, as it was replaced by a deep loss in her eyes.

"And what Harm?" Melody prodded softly, wondering what on earth had her sister so tongue tied.

"And Ryan was nine years old." Harmony's voice was barely audible in the already quiet room. Her eyes had a deep mourning in them as she traced back the old memory in her mind. "I remember…it was the walk back home…that I told him about the triple nine…and he said, from now on, that would be his favorite number…" Harmony suddenly snapped out of her trance as she struggled not to cry. "I'll be back later." The girl managed to choke out, standing up quickly and disappearing from the room as though she'd never been there before.


	31. No Pain No Game and Tortuous Baths

"She should've been here by now!" Ariel said, frustrated beyond belief with her oldest daughter. It was already 6:35 and Harmony wasn't back yet! The girl was more trouble than Ariel at that age, the woman sighed, her eyes going up to the door of her daughter's room in hope that the child would enter it soon.

"Mother, it's only five minutes past." Melody's voice pointed out, her blue eyes roaming those of her mother in hopes that she'd understand.

"Five minutes that I can't at least make her look somewhat like a princess." Ariel said with a groan, shaking her head at the door.

"So we don't have five minutes Ariel, it's not the end of the world." Margaret said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort. Ariel gave a wan smile to Margaret in return.

"You've never seen her after a soccer game." Ariel said, her eyes flickering once again to the door of her daughter's room.

"It's true. She looks like she was lost in the woods for an entire week when she comes back from a soccer game. And she smells too." Coral added, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Harmony usually smelled like dirt, grass, and sweat after a soccer game. The girl could smell it so perfectly right now…as if Harmony was here…

"I can understand the woods one, but I don't think I smell…much." Harmony said with a grin, her voice easily carrying into the room. Ariel's head lifted up as her eyes connected to her daughter and a sigh of relief came from her mouth. She was always a little on edge when Harmony was in her other world.

"Well now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Margaret noted with disaprovement on every ring of her tone. Harmony shrugged, dropping her soccer bag onto the floor and rolling back her shoulders in pain.

"No pain no game." Harmony said easily, flopping onto the bed dramatically as she closed her eyes. She was rudely awakened only a moment later.

"Your filthy, and the ball is in less than half an hour!" Ariel said, grabbing her daughter's arm from the bed and practically dragging the girl down the hallway.

"This is what happens when you have a five 'o' clock soccer game, and a ball on the same day." Harmony said, more as a point to her mother that she should have realized that Harmony had a game, and to not plan a ball on that day. Too bad Ariel didn't care about whether Harmony had a game or not, as she pushed the girl into the bathroom.

"No Harm, this is what happens when you decide to go to your soccer game instead of just skip it." Melody said with a snort, giving Coral a sorry smile , before closing the door behind her….and right on Coral's face. Suddenly, the girl got the picture. The three _women_ were allowed to be with Harmony, but not the _girl_. Wait a minute…this was what Aunt Ariel must have meant when Coral told asked her what to wear to the ball tonight, and Ariel had just sighed at the girl and said 'this is an adult ball sweetie, it's not meant for children'…at the time Coral had thought she was just joking…but what if…she was actually serious?! Growling to herself, Coral stomped off to her room, and slammed the door behind her.

"How on earth you can wear such thin clothes in this weather is beyond me." Ariel said with an eye roll to her daughter, unzipping the girl's jacket quickly so she could get Harmony into the bath.

"It's called running Mom. You should try it sometime." Harmony felt someone---or rather, someone's gianormous stomach hit her from behind at that comment.

"Don't be mean Harmony." Margaret chastised the girl, before pushing her into the tub. Harmony fell in with an 'oomph!'. Her head didn't surface the water for another two minutes. Margaret looked worried at that, as she bit her lip in wonderment. Ariel just rolled her eyes and caught her daughter's wet ear, and dragged her back up by it.

"FUCK!" Harmony yelled out, as her already sore ear made her head break the surface of the water. Both women winced automatically at the language, Melody winced and grimaced at the same time, while subconsciously rubbing her giant belly, as though soothing the unborn child.

For the next fifteen minutes, Harmony was scrubbed, scolded, and had her ear twisted quite a number of times---most of them coming from Melody who took a real sadistic pleasure in getting back at her sister for making her cry earlier in the week and never apologizing. When Harmony was finally deemed 'pink and clean' ('pink' in this case is used in the fact that Harmony's skin was so sore from being scrubbed it had turned pink) she was literally dragged to a dressing room, and sat in front of the mirror, still in a towel, as the two women--and Melody---started to fuss over her hair. Harmony silently sulked while this was all going on, but she instantly brightened when a familiar voice surrounded her.


	32. A Love Story Updo and Proud Dead Brother

"A black haired person, a 2 redheads, a brunette, and a blonde all in the same room…gawd, this sounds like a setup to a blonde joke." Emma's voice said, as she pursed out her lips in annoyance. Harmony immediately laughed out loud, and tried to get up out of the vanity seat to run to her friend…but she only succeeded in being pushed back down into the chair, rather forcefully, by Ariel.

"Stay down, we have to finish with this monster you call hair." Ariel tsked, suddenly drying Harmony's hair with a towel….a bit harder than before. Well, actually, not a bit because it hurt like _hell _to Harmony.

"I can't believe you actually came! I thought you'd ditch…." Harmony said in a happy voice, her eyes shining through the mirror at her friend who shrugged and walked towards her, using the vanity table as her seat.

"Eh. It was either this or baby-sit tweedledumb and tweedleidiot." Emma said with a dismissive wave of her hand, before crossing her arms against her chest as she looked down at a helpless Harmony with a smirk.

"What gives you the right to be here _Emma_?" Ariel said through clenched teeth, suddenly rubbing the towel across Harmony's skull so hard that there was probably enough friction to electrocute someone.

"If I recall correctly, I was invited by your daughter." Emma said with a tightly controlled voice, barely acknowledging Ariel as Harmony's mother…or a Queen for that matter.

"You invited _her_?" Ariel hissed, stopping her furious rub on Harmony's scalp to stare angrily at her daughter through the mirror. Harmony met her mother's expression with an even fiercer one.

"It's my party, and I'll invite whoever I want to." Harmony said, her blue eyes filled with that crystal fire that meant her decision was final, and if Ariel tried to change it, well, she'd be seeing stars soon.

"Well, she can't go if she doesn't have a ball gown." Margaret pointed out, coming to Ariel's aid in the matter. It was true though, Emma was wearing a pair of jeans and an old tee-shirt that said 'Nebraska girl's do it better'. Plus, she had on a pair of black converse, not appropriate shoes or whatever.

"If Harmony is going to use my dress for tonight, than the ball gown _she_ brought Emma can use. It's actually over here." Melody said brightly, grabbing Emma by the hand and pushing the girl behind the dressing screen as she grabbed the dress Harmony wouldn't be using and went behind the screen to help Emma into it.

"What should we do with your hair?" Ariel sighed, twirling around Harmony's hair in her fingers as she thought about what to do with it. Pick it up, or leave it down?

"Let me just braid it and be done already." Harmony sighed-groaned, shaking her red head as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked no different than she would any given day.

"Oh, that's no fun!" Margaret whined, ignoring the cursing that was going on behind the screen. "Let's do a French twist!" Margaret actually seemed excited about doing this, Harmony thought to herself with a mental snort. Why would anyone get excited over hair?

"I've tried doing that to her hair…it always starts to frizz afterwards." Ariel admitted with a sigh, brushing her hand through her own loose hair in frustration as to what to do.

"Oh! I've got it! We can do the Love Story hair for her! She'd look so beautiful!" Margaret said, instantly brightening up. Ariel managed a small smile at the thought of that hairstyle.

"Wait a minute, what's the Love Story hair whatever?" Harmony asked, her heart already pumping in fear as she wondered what the hell they were going to do to her.

"Didn't your mother never mention that story to you?" Margaret asked, her and Ariel already starting to make the hair do. Harmony stared at the mirror with a bewildered expression, since her head was unable to move at the moment. Margaret laughed as Ariel blushed lightly. "On the night of your mother's engagement ball, she had her red hair picked up in beautiful up do. Immediately after that ball, every woman across every land tried to imitate it for party's, or social events, or even balls, but no one could pull it off better than your mother. So it was named the Love Story hair do, because, well, the way your mother and father met is terribly romantic and since it was the night of her engagement ball…" By this time Harmony's hair was completely brushed out, almost pin straight, which was really starting to bug both women.

"Huh. You lost me at 'mother's'." Emma, wincing as she emerged from behind the screen wearing Harmony's ball gown. She and Harmony were the same size, which lead to many borrowed clothes in between them. Once again, Emma sat on the vanity table, her conversed feet dangling down. Harmony took one look at her friend, and her mouth opened to say something not so nice…but a swift, *accidental* punch on the arm from Emma silenced her voice.

"It's impossible Margaret. There isn't enough time to curl her hair." Ariel said with a sigh, wishing they'd thought of curling Harmony's red hair earlier. Then a thought occurred to her. "Harmony, could you…use your powers to…you know…" Ariel trailed off, wincing almost as she thought of how she was wishing not to say that sentence.

"Kat with curly hair? It'll be just like kindergarten again, except, without the pigtails, right?" Emma giggled to her friend, who *accidentally* had Emma's hand thump herself.

"Remember, this is the first, and very last time I do this hair do, alright?" Harmony told both women evenly, before naming her fingers. Her flaming locks immediately turned into bundles of curls. Both women sighed in relief that the day was saved---thanks to Harmony's powers---as they quickly pulled her hair into the Love Story up do.

Finally, Harmony was allowed into her dress. It was one of only three dresses that Melody hadn't had altered to fit her growing belly, so it was still good enough to fit Harmony. For the record, she gave mild protest, that was overlooked, throughout trying to get into the midnight blue ball gown. And then, a misty eyed Ariel placed Harmony's tiara on her head. The girl stared at herself for a moment in the mirror, not comprehending what she was seeing. She looked…_nice_. Ryan would have made fun of her for---no, don't think about Ryan. Just his name brought tears to her eyes.

"Oh honey, don't cry. You look so beautiful." Ariel said, hugging her daughter and misinterpreting her tears. Everyone thought she was crying because of her reflection, Harmony realized in her mind. Everyone but one person.

"Wait a sec, there's something missing." It was Emma's voice that called it out, as her brown eyes pierced through Harmony. "Well, actually two things that are missing, but I'll get to the second in a minute. The first thing is that…okay well, I just wanted you to know kid…that Ryan would have been really proud that his annoying little sister was so grown up." Emma said, her voice clear though her eyes were misty as she thought of Ryan too. The boy had always been like an older brother to her too, since she'd spent so much time always with Harmony. "And the second, is that Coral isn't here." Emma announced, her clear voice going through the room and into everyone's ears. Ariel, Margaret, and Melody exchanged glances.

"Ohmygod, your right!" Harmony said, slapping her forehead as she realized what her friend had said. Now wonder it seemed so quiet….

"Sweetheart, Coral is to young to go to your engagement ball. She's only sixteen…and there's going to be alcohol…" Ariel let the thought trail off, as she grimaced a little, knowing her niece probably hated her right now.

"Oh please." Harmony said with a snort to her mother. "At sixteen you were married, and so was Melody. What, did you guys drink juice at your wedding? It's my party, and I want my cousin to be here, otherwise this is overrated." Harmony said, ignoring the protests of the two women and Melody as she turned to Emma. "I can't escape anytime soon, but you can. Go down the hall to the second door, it's Coral's room, and tell her that I say she's going to come to my party, and then you guys can sneak in from the back of the ball, like you've been there all along. Cool?" Harmony asked, though she knew the answer already by Emma's sarcastic salute to her.

"Sir yes sir!" Emma said, saluting her captain, Harmony who only grinned at the name before pushing Emma out the door of her dressing room. While Ariel, Margaret, and Melody all started talking at once, their voices a babble in the background, Harmony _really_ looked at herself in the mirror and finally came to a conclusion.

Ryan would have been very proud of her.

* * *

**So tired....it's 3 in the morning...so tired...just look at my profile for everything, okay? And review. Nighty night.**


	33. Beautiful

"Harmony you look beautiful." Eric appraised, finally seeing the finished product of his daughter. Wow. He never realized just how much she looked like Ariel…

"Whatever." Harmony said with an eye roll to herself. Eric and Ariel almost cringed. When it had been Melody's engagement ball, the girl had been twirling around, singing to herself like a lovesick, excited girl. Everyone had been expecting the same from Harmony. So imagine their shock when the girl just rolled her eyes and shrugged, like it was no big deal. Well, actually, all except one person were shocked at Harmony's behavior. That said person only grinned a devilish smile that made the girl's heart swoon.

"No black cauldron?" John teased, catching Harmony by her waist and spinning her around to him. For a moment, all the adults---and Melody---in the room held their breath, knowing that Harmony hated to be teased about her powers. She usually ran off in a blood red rage, or tears when someone cracked a witch joke about her. But this time, Harmony shocked everyone again by just…laughing.

"Trust me, if I had it, I would've turned you into a frog long ago." Harmony's bubbly laugh made John grin widely, and everyone else in the family look at each other in a 'are you serious, she laughs when she's around him?!' fashion.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering I get you to kiss me." John said with raised brows, a small smile on his face towards Harmony. Harmony gasped laughed, shaking her head at the boy with a grin. John cleaned up nicely, her mind noted, seeing how almost military pristine he looked in his jacket and pants. And of course, his reddish brown with some blonde hair fell over his eyes in just that sigh worthy way that made the girl smile like a lovesick fool. Ariel and Margaret nudged each other in the ribs, grinning as they saw Harmony was finally looking like a normal girl. Leroy's eyes flickered from both Harmony to John, who now both had those lovesick smiles, and he even cracked a small grin. Only one person in the entire room didn't like Harmony's lovesick smile.

The smile was off her face within a moment, as she heard Eric clear his voice in the background, making John stand up straighter almost immediately, as though he was a nutcracker man. His hands also dropped from Harmony's waist too, seeing as how that's what Eric was pointedly looking at angrily. Harmony, and the other women, shot Eric glares.

"We should get going; don't want to be late for the ball." Leroy announced to the group, who immediately started to nod as though it was a good idea. Only two people, ironically the people that were the guest of honor, groaned at this.

"Well, at least there's two good things about this ball." John said, a sigh coming from his lips, looking up ahead for a moment at all the adults, who were all walking and talking together waaayyy up ahead of the lagging teenagers.

"And what's that?" Harmony wondered, sighing as she thought of this ball. No ball had anything good in it, that the girl new from personal experience.

"Well, first, there's going to be champagne." John noted with his signature devil smile towards Harmony that spoke all the words he wouldn't dare say within earshot of Eric. "And second, it seems I'm going to have the most beautiful dance partner. Harmony, you look…beautiful. I mean, you always do, but…I don't know, there's just something about you tonight that makes you look, if it's possible, even more beautiful." John added, a soft smile on his lips as he looked down towards a slightly blushing Harmony.

Up ahead, Ariel's fingernails dug into Eric's skin, a warning to him not to say any word towards John for wonderful that comment to their daughter. Let the girl have one night where she felt like a Princess, Ariel wished in her mind. Eric winced when he felt Ariel's nails break his skin.

"You think so?" Harmony asked, her heart going at a million miles per hour as she thought of the most wonderful comment she'd ever received. Of course, Eric was fuming up ahead because he'd already said that to his daughter earlier, and she'd only brushed him off, while now she was blushing and acting shy.

"I know so." John answered with a smile, before reaching down and tugging on one of Harmony's loose curls that fell down her face. It was the section of her hair that was dyed electric blue. "And I especially love your blue streak." John teased, but making Harmony smile a giddy smile all the same.

* * *

**So I haven't posted in two nights, but I can explain. I was having massive writers block, but thanks to xJadeRainx I got through it. :D Can't wait till next chapter, can you? Well, i'm posting up three chapters at the same time so...be glad! **

**Oh! P.S. I have two polls going on in my profile. One is about what dress Harmony should wear for her wedding, and the other is about what gender Melody's baby should be! Please vote! Only two people (plus me!) have voted on the first poll, and I'd reeeealllly appreciate it if you guys all told me what you want Harmony to wear, and what gender Melody's baby should be! **


	34. Panic Attack!

"…majesties, Queen Ariel and King Eric." The crowd clapped politely as the court herald announced Ariel and Eric, and they stepped out onto the ballroom floor. Usually, now would be the time where Melody and Lance were announced, but, seeing as how Melody was nine months pregnant, and her ankles were swollen, and she really couldn't dance, her and Lance had declined from going to the ball. Now, as the court herald started to make some speech about Harmony and John, back behind the curtain, Harmony was having a panic attack.

"I can't go out there. I can't do this. I can't. I can't. They'll hate me. They'll push me. My dress will rip…." Harmony was shaking from the effort to keep her sobs at bay, as she slowly retreated backwards from the curtain, not able to get to near it. This happened at ever ball she went too, since that fateful Valentine's day when she was fourteen. She always had a panic attack right before she was called, but usually Ariel and Eric were the last to be announced and they could soothe Harmony enough and slowly persuade her in a matter of moments to go out to the ball. This time was different though. Her mother and father had been called before her, and now, she was in full panic attack mode.

"No one will clap. My tiara will fall. The words. The tears. I'll fall. Ryan will---" Harmony was cut off from her panic attack as John grabbed a hold of her shoulders, and looked deep within her eyes with concern.

"Harmony, it's going to be alright. Nothing will happen. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you." John said, his grip becoming tight on Harmony's shoulders as he prayed this would cure her panic attack. He knew why she was having it---heck, even he used to have them after he was fourteen and saw what the people of Shireland had done to Harmony at that Valentine's Ball.

"N-N-No…everything will go wrong. I can't go out there. They'll push me. They'll hurt me. They'll---" Harmony was cut off by John re-gripping her shoulders, and forcing her to look into his urgent eyes.

"Harmony, I swear, nothing will happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll hold onto you the entire night. I promise." John's urgent, but still somehow gentle, and whispered voice said to Harmony, staring into her big, beautiful blue eyes. The girl stared back at him, into his warm, chocolate brown eyes that were promising her that nothing would happen. Slowly, with a nod, the girl took in a deep breath, and then let it shakily out, looking at John who's eyes had turned gentle towards her.

"…further ado, may I present our very own royal highness, Prince Jonathan and his fiancée, Princess Harmony of Shireland." By this time, Harmony's hand had found John's, and she tightly inter locked her fingers with his, her blue eyes greatly controlled so that no one could see the fear that raged beneath her.

Both Harmony and John stepped out behind the curtain. Harmony tried to focus on breathing as she ignored the cheering. John sent a squeeze to her hand, a sign that it was okay. Slowly, the music started to start up as John led Harmony through a waltz.

"Breathe Harmony." John's whisper soft voice said to the girl, as she tried to start breathing normally again.

One, two, three, One, two, three…

"Better hold on tight." John's whispered voice said into the girl's ear, taking her mind away from her nausea and back onto John. He smiled that devilish smile of his at her, to which she was immediately suspicious about.

"Don't do anything stupid." She warned in a whispered voice, not liking that smile he had on. John only gave her a wider, signature devilish smile, as his hands were at her hips in a moment, and he swung her into the air, before gently setting her back on her feet. Even though Harmony shot him a mock angered look that was impossible to keep the smile out of, she blushed lightly too.

The music was slowly fading from the background it seemed, and with it, all of Harmony's confidence was slowly slipping away. She wasn't good with crowds. Actually, she was feeling just a bit claustrophobic with all of this going on.

"Don't let go." Harmony's whisper soft voice said, as she heard the waltz song end, and her nausea start to creep up on her. She heard the polite clapping as the song finally ended, and she gripped John's hand for life as she knew it. John squeezed her hand again, but this time, Harmony barely felt it because she was trying not to have a mental breakdown. She should have taken her pill earlier, she cursed herself mentally.

"Harmony, it's alright." John's voice whispered into the girl's ear, as she tried to get a grip back on reality. Hearing the music start back up because the applause had died down, and couples now joining and dancing, making the ballroom a bit crowded, John found his chance.

"Follow me." John's voice whispered, taking Harmony's hand and guiding it upwards into another dance. The girl looked up at him with her face paler than a ghost, and with her forehead just about ready to break out into sweat at how claustrophobic this all was.

But John had a plan. Slowly, he was guiding her to the doors in the back that led to outside. He was an expert on these silent escapes, and it seemed now more than ever that Harmony needed one. Finally, the waltz ended, and John was close enough to the back doors that all he had to do was just push it slightly open---only enough for Harmony to slide outside, and then for him---and then they were out.

* * *

**Panic attack! Oh Harmony I do feel bad for you! REview this chapter, and dont' forget to vote (the poll is on my profile) about what dress Harmony should wear to her wedding and what gender Melody's baby should be! **


	35. Is That a Compliment or a Dis?

"I-I'm so sorry." Harmony said tears blurring her vision as she sat on the bench, in the snowy gazebo. John had been silent as he made his way, with Harmony in tow, to the place where they'd both had their first kiss with each other.

"For what?" John asked, puzzled as to why Harmony was close to tears. Sitting next to her on the bench, he pulled the girl into his warm arms, not that she complained one bit.

"I-I'm not good with crowds…I mean…not since…" The girl's voice trailed off, as a few tears fell down her face and she shivered in the cold January air. Not tomorrow, but the day after they'd be leaving back to Shireland so that they had a full day to rest---Sunday, even though they'd be home, still counted as part of their vacation---before getting back to the daily grind.

"Not since what happened three years ago?" John filled in, wiping off Harmony's tears with his thumb. The girl took in a deep, raggedy breath and nodded…before looking up at her fiancée with a bitten lip.

"If I tell you something…will-will you pinky swear to try and…not overreact?" Harmony asked, biting her lip as she looked up at the boy with tear filled eyes. Her heart had been broken so many times before…she only hoped this time it wouldn't be broken….again.

"Of course." John said, smiling in spite of himself as he interlocked his giant pinky with Harmony's smaller, more slender one, and shook it. Harmony took in another deep raggedy breath, as she closed her eyes a moment, and finally spilled one of her many secrets.

"You know that pill I take in the morning? The one I said was for my allergies? Actually…it's a anti-depressant pill." She could have told him more, like why she took those pills, what really happened to her brother, who framed Rodger Rabbit, what her childhood was really like, what her parents had done to her…but…she just couldn't. Not now at least. Cautiously opening one eye, Harmony was met with John's…thoughtful expression.

"I figured as much." John said thoughtfully, thinking about what Harmony had just told him. The girl's mouth dropped to the snowy floor of the gazebo, as she stared at her fiancée in shock. He merely just laughed at her expression and pulled Harmony in closer to him. "I'm not an idiot Harmony; I can see things. I know that what happened at the ball…and then your brother…it must have really hurt you." You have no idea, Harmony thought bitterly and sadly to herself, before continuing to listen to John. "But, to hell with that. I don't care Harmony. Your not like any other girl I've ever met…you don't expect me to be some magical knight in shining armor to save you from a ferocious dragon…hell, if there was a dragon, you'd probably end up killing it yourself by the time I got to where you were. That's just you…and that's why…I love you." John said, a laugh to himself at how 'romantic' that sounded. He wasn't the type of person to have a romantic candlelight dinner with someone he loved…rather, he'd want to spend his time in the library, reading about…everything. And knew Harmony would too.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment…or a dis, but it was really nice either way." Harmony said, giving a sort of laugh through her tears. John just grinned at her.

"I guess we should be heading back now." John acknowledged with a sigh, standing up and extending a hand towards Harmony, who in turn, brushed her tears away from her eyes and gave him a mischievous smirk.

"Walking takes so long though…" Harmony said, her eyes alight with mischief. John looked at her warily, his brows furrowing at what she was thinking of. If only he could read minds…

"What are you planning Harmony?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for some type of clue as to what she was thinking of. She merely grinned at him, jumping up from the bench and taking his hand in her own.

"Hold on tight." Harmony said with a laugh, before muttering a phrase under her breath. The wind started to pick up all around Harmony and John then, faster and faster, and a low rumbling could be heard as the girl tried to keep control of her powers so she didn't hurt anyone---or thing. When John finally re-opened his eyes, he was back in the ballroom, with an innocent looking, slightly out of breath Harmony who just winked at him.

* * *

**The next chapter is going to be good! I promise! Review! And again, don't forget to vote on what dress Harmony should wear at her wedding and what gender Melody's baby should be! Polls are on my profile! **


	36. Mom Drinks Wine Shots

"How could you---why would you---urgh!" Ariel could've shouted it out at her niece, if she would have thought that the girl actually cared enough to be scared at her Aunt's yelling.

"Wait, I'm confused." Harmony's voice said, clearly bewildered with all of this. She was sitting next to Coral in the small---by castle standards (in Harmony standards it was HUGE!)---sitting room that lead to her parent's bedroom. She sat hugging her knees to her chest, already in her pajamas as she turned to her cousin in confusion. "What did you do?"

"I kissed this guy…um…his name was…uh…" A tipsy Coral said, stuttering over the name of the boy who had a _fabulous_ tongue. Too bad her Aunt Ariel wasn't too happy about that.

"Alec." Ariel filled in, her eyes flashing angrily. She still held a grudge against the boy for making her daughter's life a living hell, but, his family held a high title in Shireland, and therefore, no matter how much Ariel hated it, she was forced to invite his family to social events.

"Yeahhh, that's who he wassss." Coral said, her eyes slightly out of focus and mouth up in a half smile. Ariel expected Harmony to be infuriated by this, since Alec is how screwed up her life three years ago all with one dance. That's also why Ariel had Harmony here, to sort of help punish Coral. Now that Harmony was to be married, she would be more mature, and now she could get Harmony to side with her on matters of discipline.

"How could you be kissing him Coral! For goodness sake, and in front of everyone too! What would your mother say! Oh your mother, she's going to _kill _you for kissing a boy who you barley know!" Ariel steamed, her eyes burning for the kill.

"Actually Aunt Ariel, we stuck our tongues into each other's mouths, so it wasn't reallllly kissing." Coral said, still tipsy as she brought up her pointer finger, as if making a point. Harmony nudged the girl in the ribs with her elbow.

"Your first make out session?" Harmony questioned, her voice wondering. Alec, and her cousin made out? And what was that look that Ariel was giving her?

"Yup." Coral's mouth popped on the 'p' of the word, and she tipsily looked at Harmony with big green eyes. Harmony shocked both Coral and Ariel at the moment though, by breaking out into a big smile and grasping her cousin's arms.

"Your very first make out sess! Coral, I'm so proud! Oh! Did you remember to try and write your name in cursive on his tongue? That's the best part of it ya know!" Harmony said, literally squealing from the excitement at her cousin's very first make out session.

"Harmony! This isn't something to be proud about!" Ariel chided angrily, crossing her arms over her chest as a sign she was cross. "Coral decided to sneak out of the ball, _alone_ with a boy, who's Alec, and the back door to the ballroom opened on the count of them sticking their tongues in each other!" Ariel finally lost her cool and shrieked the last part out, making both girl's wince in fright.

"The moment we get back to Shireland, I'm going to drag you down to Atlantica and _your_ going to tell your parents why your no longer allowed to stay on land with us." Ariel steamed angrily, her blue eyes flashing. Just the words that she uttered though immediately made Harmony and Coral sit up straight and make their eyes wide and mouths drop.

"Mom, don't you think your being just a bit…over the top? I mean, Coral is just a kid, she's bound to make mistakes. Just let it slide, please?" Harmony begged, her face going into a pout that made Ariel sigh, and press the back of her hand to her forehead, as she practically fell down into a comfortable chair.

"I'm sorry. That was…over the top. It's just when I get angry I start to…well…do and say things I don't mean." Ariel apologized, closing her arms as she pressed her palm against her head instead of the back of her hand, before blearily looking back up at Coral.

"I'm sooorrrryyy." The girl drawled out tipsily, and only because Harmony had muttered a few words under her breath to make the girl do so.

"I am too. I still have to tell your parents about this Coral, and your still going to be in trouble for drinking. See _this _is why I didn't want you at the ball…." Ariel let the thought trail off as she sighed again, her let her head rest on her hand.

"Look, I'll keep an eye on her for the rest of the trip, if it makes you feel any better. Just please don't tell her parents Mom. Can't you just let it slide, for me, since it's the day of my engagement ball…" Harmony let the thought trail off as she pouted to her mother in protest. Ariel sighed again, shaking her head once, before blearily looking up at Harmony with a thin smile.

"On one condition." Ariel finally said, reaching for the glass of wine that she really did need right now. It wasn't just the fact that Coral was giving her a migraine from making out with the boy who'd caused Harmony so much trouble, no, it was also the fact that even though her oldest daughter was going to get married, she still acted the same way as she did before. Able to give a headache with only a few sentences. "Tell me _everything_ about how Jonathan proposed to you!" Ariel begged. Harmony looked pained at just the thought of it.

"On second thought, ground the kid. I refuse to let loose a single word." Harmony said, making Ariel flash with annoyance for a moment, before she downed the rest of the wine she had in one breath. Just seeing that, Harmony realized something.

She now knew who'd given her her shot's drinking talent.

* * *

**Alrighty, so I checked my profile, and I realized something. ON my profile, only one poll will show, so I kept the 'what gender should MElody's baby be' poll on there. Remember to vote on what you want! PLEASE! I want to write that chapter tonight, sooooo....**

**Also review!**


	37. Waffles and 7 hrs of Labor

"What are you doing to your waffles?!" Melody finally exclaimed staring at Harmony's buttered/ drowned in maple syruped waffles that the girl was…eating with her fingers? Ariel shot Harmony a look at that, and Harmony shot one back to Ariel.

"Um…I'm eating them." Harmony said, folding the waffle in half as she stuffed it into her mouth. Melody rolled her eyes, and Coral just groaned from her massive hangover.

"I can see that." Melody shot back with another eye roll. "I meant, why are you eating them…with your fingers? I mean…isn't that…like…messy?" Melody asked, scrunching up her nose in disgust. Harmony just grinned.

"Mel, it's just…how you eat waffles….it's a kid thing. Didn't you ever eat waffles like this?" Harmony asked with a grin, eating the rest of her waffle in one bite and wiping her fingers on the napkin.

"No…never actually. Did you Lance?" Melody questioned, turning to her husband with furrowed brows. Her expression changed abruptly though when she felt something wet trickle down her leg, and a searing pain howled through her, making her shudder.

"Uh…Mom?" Harmony's voice said, staring at her sister and her clueless husband for a moment, before flicking her gaze back to her mother. Melody's eyes were wide, panicked even, as Lance furrowed his brows, not understanding what was happening to his wife.

"What Harmony?" Ariel asked with a sigh, completely disregarding Melody as she only wanted to return back to her conversation with Margaret. What could Harmony have to ask that was so important? What, was it going to be a sarcastic response, or some type of random joke? Unless Melody's baby was being born (and fat chance of THAT since the girl was nine months pregnant and that baby looked as though it was going to stay in Melody's stomach for ten months) Ariel was going to kill the girl later for interrupting her conversation.

"Um…I'm not really sure…but they kind of taught us this thing in health class back in the seventh grade---" Already annoyed at Harmony, Ariel rolled her eyes at the girl.

"Get to the point Harmony." Ariel's thick with annoyance voice said to her daughter with another sigh.

"Well, if your going to be a bitch about it, than I won't tell you what's wrong." Harmony said with a snort, even though Melody was already breathing raggedly, and even though Lance was still clueless---along with John, and Coral--- as to what was happening. Honestly, were they all idiots?!

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry Harmony. Now what do you have to tell me?" Ariel asked with a sigh, tapping her fingers on the table in annoyance as to what Harmony had to say to her.

"Um…Melody's going into labor…but, your busy talking. Please, continue your conversation. I'm sure the friggin baby can wait until your done speaking." Harmony said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at her mother, before flicking her eyes back to Melody in slight concern.

Ariel looked like she swallowed a fish at that moment. Margaret looked like she'd drop dead from the shock. Eric looked equally shocked as his wife, and the same for Leroy. John looked at Melody with thoughtfulness in his eyes, wondering what would happen if the baby popped out of her, right here, at the breakfast table. Coral's eyes were wide, but her head was still resting on the table from her migraine. Lance looked rather…concerned and unknowing as to what to do. Melody looked like she was about to scream at any minute. It was Harmony who finally broke the silence after about thirty seconds.

"WILL SOMEBODY GET THE FUCKING DOCTOR ALREADY?!" Harmony yelled at the top of her lungs, officially pissed off at her family for being so stupid. Her and Melody may have their disagreements, but when it came down to her going into labor during breakfast and everybody just sitting there and not doing anything, well, that was a bit too much for her to handle.

Seven hours later, that is to say at 5:30 or so, Harmony was resting her head on John's lap, and he was running his hands through her red hair. Harmony's leg's dangled off the armrest of the couch, her feet bare, though that fact was hidden by her dress. Coral was curled up on the other end of the couch, hiding her face into her knees because the light hurt her eyes, which further added to her migraine. She had asked Harmony if the girl could please, please, take her migraine away because it hurt like _hell. _Harmony had only looked over her cousin before saying 'if I healed your migraine, you wouldn't have learned anything about drinking'. That was also her philosophy when Lance told her that she should heal Melody's pain.

"How can someone be in labor for seven hours?" Lance asked, collapsing into a chair from sheer exhaustion, though he knew by his wife's screaming that she must be even more exhausted than he.

"My mom was in labor with me for twelve hours---or at least, that's what she says when she's trying to guilt me into something. Right Dad?" Harmony said, her head still on John's lap, and was still running his finger through her red hair. Eric sighed, wincing at the memory, but nodding all the same. For twelve grueling hours he had no idea if Ariel was alright or not---for _**twelve**_ _**straight**_ _**hours**_.

"Grandma Athena was in labor for a _whole day _when she was having baby Alissa." Coral's muffled voice pointed out, her head still hidden in her knees so she didn't have to see the light. Damn champagne. It tastes too good to put down, and then the next day you have a hangover, and a vague memory of wrapping your tongue around some other guys, and then being pulled away---by your ear---by your Aunt.

A scream erupted from Lance and Melody's bed chamber then, making everyone look tiredly up at the doors, before looking back down as they realized there was nothing they could do.


	38. I Betcha It'll Be a

"I would kill for some jacks or marbles right now. That way I could have something to _do_." Harmony muttered, just loud enough for John and Coral to hear. Coral blinked in confusion, but didn't bother lifting her head out of her no light area.

"You know how to play marbles?" John asked, clearly impressed with his fiancée.

"Play, trade, swallow, the whole cycle." Harmony said with a shrug, looking up at John with a small grin. "Trust me, I've eaten my share of toys that weren't meant for food. I'm surprised I never got lead poisoning though…" Harmony trailed off for a moment, thoughtfully thinking this all through.

"Sure about that?" Coral's muffled voice teased, making her cousin light up like a firework. Still lying down, Harmony stuck her hand out---away from the flammable couch and fiancée and light it light up in blue flames. John watched quietly, a slow smile making it's way onto his lips as a thought hit him. He was in love with a witch. For most, that would be slightly eccentric. For him…it was just Harmony.

"I can light you on fire so easily, dear coz…." Harmony let the fire on her hand spread up to her wrist, the blue flames angrily dancing across her arm. Coral gave a muffled shriek as she curled up tighter into her temporary hiding place from the light.

"Harmony, please cut that out before you hurt yourself." Eric's reprimanding voice said, but there really was no force behind it, so therefore Harmony didn't release her flames. Lance watched in fascination as the flames grew in size, but not so much that they could hurt anyone.

"Is…I mean, isn't that dangerous?" Lance wondered, staring still in fascination as the fire turned to a block of ice that had incarcerated Harmony's arm---from her balled up fist, to her elbow, it was all ice.

"As long as I don't let things get too out of hand, no, it's not dangerous." Harmony answered, before blowing on her icicle hand and letting the ice melt into a small puddle on the carpet. Using her outstretched fingers, Harmony let them move slowly, as if capturing something that wasn't there. But…wait, there was. The puddle on the carpet slowly started to rise into a…ball of water…that floated almost an inch off of Harmony's hand. A wicked smile went onto Harmony's lips, as she suddenly sat up and threw the water ball straight her cousin.

"AH!" Coral's muffled shriek came out, as the girl quickly looked up with murder in her eyes to a innocent looking Harmony. That's when the fact that she was looking at light finally hit her, and she groaned, cradling her forehead in her hands.

"Nice aim." John said with a whistle to himself, grinning down at Harmony, who grinned back at him. Lance rolled his eyes at the two lovers, before wincing as he heard Melody's shrieks of pain getting louder…and louder…and louder.

"That was nothing compared to my curveball." Harmony said with a smile, as John gave another whistle in approval. Harmony could throw a curveball? That girl just made him love her more, and more, and more.

"You can throw a curveball?" Lance wondered, pushing back his messy blonde hair as it fell in front of his eyes. Harmony didn't even look up at him as she shrugged.

"I was a tomboy growing up." Harmony said, smiling as she remembered those days. When sneakers were the only types of shoes to wear for virtually anything, and when her world was on bike ride.

"I would've never guessed." John said sarcastically, grinning playfully as Harmony flicked water droplets into his face.

"You two make me wanna---" Coral never did get to finish her sentence, as it was that moment Melody decided to scream so loud that it could have shaken the entire castle. Everyone was silent outside of the room, listening to Melody's screams with a grimace. There were a few, all of them one after another, and each one louder, and louder, and louder, and…that wasn't Melody screaming, Harmony's mind said, as she tried to place that noise…she knew it from somewhere…oh! It was the baby! Crap, could that kid _wail_!

"I bet you a new book it's a girl. There is no way a boy would screech like that." John's voice finally said, cutting the silence in the room. Lance turned to his younger brother with murder in his eyes, but it was Harmony who spoke first.

"Alright." Harmony acknowledged with a sly grin, still resting her head on John's lap and looking up at him. "And I bet _you_ a French kiss that it's a boy. Trust me, if Melody had a girl, it would be ten times louder." Harmony said with a grin to her fiancée.

"Your betting on my newborn child? That's a new low, for the both of you." Lance said with an eye roll towards both Harmony and John, as he got up from the seat he'd been in to stare down his brother and his sister-in-law.

"Oh please. I heard Dad and your father betting a cigar on whether it was a boy or girl, so don't give me that guilt trip Lansing Michigan." Harmony snapped at the boy, her frustration showing through completely.

"Harmony, don't go around saying lies. It's unladylike." Eric said, though he was already a light shade of pink from the way Lance had narrowed his eyes at both his father and him.

Suddenly, the door to Melody and Lance's bedchamber opened, revealing two very proud grandmothers---and one of them, ironically, wasn't even past 35 and she was a grandmother.

"Is Melody alright?!" Lance blurted, panic mixed with concern in his voice.

"Oh she's fine. Poor thing is just exhausted." Margaret said with a shake of her head and a small smile to herself.

"Go in and see her, and your new baby boy for yourself Lance." Ariel's warm, happy, excited voice said, as Lance's eyes went wide at the news, and he quickly slipped into his bedchamber with Melody, shutting the door behind him so he could have a private moment with his wife.

"Yes! I won!" Harmony cheered, laughing as she jumped up and did a happy dance. "You owe me a new book now! Haha!" Harmony giggled, still doing her happy dance. John groaned; he'd honestly thought that his nephew would be a niece. Coral grinned weakly. Eric looked torn between happy for his daughter, and angry for his other one who'd been lying on John's lap the entire time---and he'd been too worried about Melody to realize it. Leroy just looked happy from all of this.

"No one likes a sore winner." John said with a groan to Harmony, who only stuck out her tongue at him and continued with her happy dance. A brand new book! Yes!

"Said the loser." Harmony laughed back to John, smirking as she continued with her happy dance, saying 'I wo-on, I wo-on' as she danced around the room**.**


	39. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

"I can't believe we have to leave _today_! This sucks. Ass. It sucks _ass_." Harmony groaned, her arms crossing over her chest in protest to her mother and father. Ariel and Eric shared wan smiles with each other, before Ariel winked at her husband. So what if Harmony cursed, Ariel's mind said. She'd let it slide for today, seeing as how the girl wasn't all to happy about leaving her fiancee anytime soon.

"And to think she didn't even want to come on this trip, right Eric?" Ariel said with a laugh, despite Eric's look of next-time-_I'm_-not-coming. Harmony sighed unhappily, her shoulders slumping as she realized she now had only minutes until she'd be separated from John.

"Mhm, to think that our children fell in _love_ on this trip is what get's me." Margaret said, with a conspirator wink towards Ariel. Okay, so maybe they'd kind of, sort of, just a little bit _planned _on pushing John and Harmony together, but, hey, they were mothers. That's what they did.

"Well, everything is all packed up. We should leave now if we want to get back to the palace before midnight Ariel." Eric's voice said, though his true reason for wanting to leave now is so that he could murder his daughter once inside the carriage for letting John have his hands just a bit too far down her waist for Eric.

"If I survive the trip back." Coral muttered under her breathe, already feeling queasy at just the thought. She hadn't eaten anything all day, which meant she wouldn't barf. Except for the fact that she was now starving, it was a fool proof plan.

While the adults said their farewells, Harmony gave another sigh, really pissed off that in two days time she'd be back in school, dreaming about Taylor Lautner's sexy abs. Hey, she may be engaged, but she was still a teenage girl.

"I got you your prize." John said suddenly, taking out the book he'd *ahem* _borrowed_ from his brother last week. Well, now with the new baby, Lance wouldn't have time to read, and he'd forget all about the book he lent out to his younger brother, so it was a good idea.

"'Bloody Rose'" Harmony read the title aloud as the book was handed to her, to which she looked up at John questioningly.

"It's a murder mystery. Plus, since you said you didn't like flowers…" John said in a teasing tone, to which Harmony snorted and pushed him---hard---at. He laughed as he regained his balance.

"Ironic." Harmony snorted again, before looking up at John with a sigh. Damn he'd gotten hot since they were fourteen. His glasses were gone---he said he only needed now for reading---and he was stronger too. And with those eyes….and that hair that just fell over his forehead in that way…*sigh*.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I owe you something." Harmony said with a sly grin, waking up from her little moment and thanking god that her sister wasn't here to see her act like a fool in love. Melody, who'd given birth to a squalling baby boy yesterday, was too exhausted to come out and say goodbye to her family. Well, she was exhausted, but she also wasn't out of bed do to the fact that Lance, Margaret, and Ariel refused to let her, saying that she needed her rest. So, the new family, Brendon (Harmony's new nephew!), Lansing Michigan, and Melody had said goodbye to their family from Lance and Melody's bed chamber. Harmony did have admit though, Brendon was a cute newborn baby. All pink, with downy blonde hair like his father, but with those blue eyes from his mother, he was truly a Prince. Harmony, despite her mother's steely gaze, had taken pictures of him---and everyone else holding him. Hey, she had to show the kids back at high school something from her vacation.

"What's my gift?" John wondered, not understanding what Harmony's true meaning was. Men, the girl swore. So clueless towards the most obvious things in life.

"This." Harmony said, arching her mouth---and tongue---up to her new fiancée. He was a bit shocked for a moment at being caught in a kiss, but within seconds he'd regained himself and was kissing her back just as hard. She didn't want to leave---not without him. He didn't want her to leave---not without him.

"Come on Harmony." Eric's steely voice said to his daughter, grabbing her by the back of her dress and practically dragging her to the carriage. Oh she was going to get it once they were far away from the castle---and civilization so that no one could hear him yelling.

"Write to me!" Harmony called out, looking pained at being dragged backwards by her father, no matter how much she tried to wiggle and squirm out of his extremely hard grasp.

"See ya Harmony!" John called after Harmony with a laugh, knowing for sure that this was the best vacation _ever_. He'd fallen in love with the perfect girl for him, gotten engaged, and discovered that just because he was seventeen, nothing was too young for him.

"Bye!" The various shouts from Margaret, Leroy, and John waving their goodbye towards the royal family of Shireland, as the carriage holding the family slowly made it's way back towards their own kingdom---with, who else, but _Prince _Brisinger in the lead of the horse drawn carriage.

"What's that sweetheart?" Ariel asked, clearly looking towards the book in Harmony's hands. Harmony shrugged, looking out the window of the carriage at the trees passing by, before kicking her uncomfortable shoes off and wiggling her toes.

"My prize." Harmony said with a shrug, taking her cloak off of her and dropping to floor of the carriage, along with her shoes. Ariel, for once, didn't even care that Harmony was acting completely un-princess and lady like. The girl had fallen in love, and gotten engaged in the past week, that was good enough for Ariel to just leave her daughter be---for the time being.

"I hate carriages." Coral groaned, feeling her empty stomach lurch, only two minutes into the ride back home. Ariel gave a pitied look to her niece, remembering the days when she was just like that, before moving the girl's body so that Coral was resting her head on her Aunt's lap.

"Just try and sleep sweetheart." Ariel murmured, stroking the girl's reddish blond locks in an attempt to assuage her ailing stomach. Eric was about to start yelling at Harmony for her 'unladylike behavior of kissing Jonathan and letting his hands be a bit too low on her waist' when the girl turned to him first.

"G'night." The girl yawned, before resting her head on her father's lap and falling asleep. She'd pulled an all night-er last night, because she knew her father would yell at her in the carriage ride home, and she really didn't need that. Also because she knew that if she stayed up all night, the next day she'd be tired and fall asleep once in the carriage, therefore making the trip shorter.

"Goodnight Harmony." Eric murmured, his shoulders slumping as a warm smile went onto his lips. Well, she may be engaged, but she sure as hell was still his little girl.

* * *

**REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	40. Goodnight

About thirteen hours later, that is to say, midnight, the carriage finally pulled up to the Shireland castle. Everyone inside of the carriage was fast asleep, save for Eric who'd woken up when he felt the carriage stop. He took a moment to yawn, and blearily take in his surroundings.

Harmony was fast asleep on his lap, restlessly tossing her redhead back and forth as nightmares consumed her mind. Coral was laying her head on her Aunt Ariel's lap, snoring every now and then, but otherwise peacefully asleep. And then there was Ariel, who was resting her head against the side of the carriage, and her arms were draped across her niece.

Eric took the moment to smile tiredly at his wife, before yawning again and reaching over to her. "Ariel, love, wake up." He whispered, hoping not to wake the sixteen year old on her lap. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Eric jostled it gently, making his wife blearily open her eyes as she looked at her husband.

"We're here." Eric explained softly, as Ariel tiredly nodded, too thick with sleep for words. "Let's wake the girls." Eric suggested, as Ariel yawned---not covering up her mouth like a lady should because she really didn't give a damn when she was this tired---and nodded tiredly.

"Harmony, Coral, wake up." Ariel's soft voice came across, as she shrugged into her warm cloak in preparation for going outside. It was cold inside the carriage; imagine how cold it must be outside. "Come on girls, it's time to wake up." Ariel said, moving the girl on her lap a little and causing Coral to groan and blearily sit up. Harmony was a different story though.

"Crap, I forgot to give her the Anti-Depressant." Ariel said, grimacing at the thought of it as she saw her daughter was just full of nightmares from the way she kept whimpering in her sleep, and was restlessly tossing back and forth.

"Harmony…" Eric said gently, touching the girl's shoulder, and making her shoot up from her sleep, and like a wild animal, recoil and whimper almost immediately. She was already close to tears, Eric saw with a grimace himself as he tried to get the girl back to reality. "Harmony, it's alright. It's just me, it's just me." Harmony stopped whimpering when she heard the reassuring tones of her father, and slowly, the girl sat up, rubbing her forehead with her palm and wincing from her nightmares. Her parents chose not to say a word about this, but rather just look at each other with tired grimaces.

"Alright, let's get to bed." Eric's voice finally said, as he saw Ariel helping Coral into her cloak, and shooting concerned glances at a tired Harmony. Shaking his head at his daughter, Eric sighed before opening the carriage door…and being met with a harsh winter wind. Ouch.

"Come on girls." Ariel's voice said, pushing Coral gently out of the carriage to make sure the girl was at least outside. Now came Harmony, Ariel thought with a grimace at the slumped, defeated tired form of her daughter. Slowly, the mother gently pushed Harmony out of the carriage, before getting out herself and wrapping her cloak tighter against her. Why was this winter so brutal, Ariel wondered, before shaking it off as nothing and shepherding her niece and daughter inside of the warm, dark palace. While Coral had her shoes half on, half off, and her cloak lazily wrapped around her, Harmony had her shoes in her hand and had her cloak in her other hand.

"Get to bed Harmony. I'll be in your room in a minute to tuck you in." Ariel whispered, but she knew her daughter wouldn't. Not without her pill would she try and face the demons of her dreams again. Sighing, Ariel reached into her dress pocket and quickly undid the child proof safety cap of the pill bottle. While Harmony wasn't a child anymore, it's true, the girl still had no idea how to open those types of caps, which for Ariel was a wonderful thing so she didn't have to worry about Harmony…as much. Quickly, she deposited the pill into her hand and gave it to her daughter, who took it without complaint and slipped into her own bedroom.

Ah, her own room. There was a warm fire going on, which quickly warmed up the girl's bare feet that were in danger of frost bite. Quickly swallowing the pill her mother had given her, Harmony pulled off her dress instead opting for her pink leopard printed pajama pants, and a long sleeve shirt that had _Kathy _airbrushed on the back of it. The girl finally slipped into bed, and once she was all settled in, she fell fast asleep.

* * *

***Sniffle* i start school today! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I don't want my vacation to end! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! So sad! :*( I'm going to miss being able to post up chapters at random times! :( Oh well. I hope everyone had happy holidays! It's about 50 some degrees outside; FREEZING here in Miami! I'm going to get frostbite tomorrow in soccer! Well, until then, G'NIGHT!!!**


	41. I'm Absolutely Terrified of My Mothar

"Hey guys! Long time no see!" Harmony said, floating in, almost as if weightlessly into the Altantican palace's music room. Cori was already mapping out some new rhythm on the drums, and Stephen was nodding his head and making beats to the rhythm. Both boys looked up with grins as they saw Harmony, and Coral right on her tail.

"Harmony, check out this new beat, it's sick!" Cori's voice said, as he started pounding the drumsticks into the drum set, focusing hard as he tried to show off to his cousin how amazing he'd gotten at the drums since she'd been away.

"Yeahhh, nice!" Harmony said, nodding her head and grinning as she heard the new beat her cousin had come up with. Cori grinned at the encouraging words, as he started to continue on the drums, a bit faster than before as he let the beats pour of the drums and into the water so that it swirled all around everyone that was inside the music room.

"That's all I have so far." Cori said finally, finishing with his drum solo as he looked up at Harmony's blue eyes. "Do you like it? I mean, could we like, put it into a song?" The fifteen year olds anxious voice asked, wonderment and awe inside of it as he just dreamed about being able to show off his newest collection of beats at the club.

"Naw, it's not song material." Harmony said with a shrug, noticing how her cousin's face fell almost at once. Did no one in her family ever get her sarcasm? Jeez! "Sarcasm Cori, sarcasm!" The girl said with a roll of her eyes to her cousin, who instantly laughed it off and had a bright face of a young teen once again.

"Dude, it sucked waking up on Friday and knowing that the club wasn't going to be opened for the weekend. My 'rents were going crazy with me in the house all night." Stephen said with a laugh, slinging an arm around Coral as the girl gave him an eye roll and pushed him away, but in a playful manner. It was obvious that Coral and Stephen liked each other, but for now, they were still in the talking stage of their relationship.

"Yeah well, it sucked for me even more, since lover girl over there was completely awol all day at a soccer game, and then when she came back there was this ball and it was so stupid I got drunk." Coral said with a groan, still remembering her hangover.

"Lover girl? Ooh, I get it. You want me to love-you-girl!" Stephen joked, before slinging a teasing arm around Harmony, as though he could actually like her in that way. The girl looked at his arm with a slight grimace for a moment, before her expression became completely innocent.

"OW! OW! OW! OW!" The bass player howled in pain, as some type of invisible force had taken hold over his left arm and was pushing it upwards…as though the force meant to break it. Harmony smirked in pleasure at the sight of it; that should teach Stephen some much needed manners. Cori laughed, pointing out to a in-pain-Stephen that a girl was beating the crap out of him---without even touching him. And Coral just watched with pursed lips, not saying whether to stop, or to continue on. This scene was cut short though when a voice known all too well caught the teenager's attention.

"Harmony child! How many times has do I have to tell you---" The Jamaican voice started, going off on a statement that by now, Harmony knew by heart. So, while Sebastian talked, she did too, holding up her finger as he would hold up his claw, and keeping a straight face.

"It is expressly forbidden for you to be using your powers beyond the safety of adult supervision…." Sebastian's voice was dying out as he was looking at Harmony with a 'I'm not impressed' expression. Too bad Harmony kept going, like Sebastian always did. "Any such use of your powers is a reckless disregard for da rules, don't cha know?" Harmony said, keeping a straight face as she turned to Sebastian, who had long stopped talking expression. He looked at her with the same expression, before talking after a moment.

"Stop dat." The crab said, the 'I'm not impressed' expression still on his face as he looked at the teen who burst into a fit of giggles, finally losing her straight face.

"Oh Seby, I can't help it." Harmony explained, using proper language just to make the joke even funnier. Coral was hiding her face behind her guitar, trying hard not to laugh. Cori was looking down at his drums, also trying not to laugh. Stephen looked at Harmony with pleading eyes for her to stop torturing him. "I just love to torment Stephen!" The girl giggled, doing a back flip in the water, before snapping her fingers and releasing Stephen from the hold she'd had on his arms.

"My name is Sebastian, not Seby! I'm a respectable crab young lady!" Sebastian said, in his best annoyed/angered voice at Harmony who just gave a lazy shrug and a conspirator wink to her band mates.

"Whatever you say, _Seby_." Harmony said with a laugh to Sebastian's still 'I'm not impressed expression'. Still, the girl was something else, and she'd gotten the band to all be laughing, even Stephen as he rolled back his sore arm in pain. Shooting a annoyed glance at Harmony a moment, Sebastian then took charge of the band practice. The adults didn't trust four teenagers (sometimes more) in a room all alone, just 'practicing' for their weekend club, so they got Sebastian to baby sit them---er, help them improve with their music. Yes, Catfish Club---The Next Generation had been kept up.

After being grounded for a period of two months, the parents finally had a choice to make, and it was a hard one too. None of the parents wanted to have their teenagers so faraway from them, in an environment where they couldn't be controlled….but then again, they hadn't broken any major rules, besides sneaking out. They hadn't started drinking, they hadn't lied about what they were doing at night (they just said nothing---that's not lying!), and they certainly weren't having sex or anything like that. So, after much begging, pleading, crocodile tears and much more, the teenagers got to keep their club, on the condition that there still be no alcohol (heck, some of the teens were still just thirteen) that the club ONLY allow in teenagers (anyone younger would be too young and easily coerced into doing bad things, anyone older would be the coercers), and that the club shut down by eleven thirty, and all the older teenagers (the younger ones still had their own earlier curfews, but that was their parents choice) be back home by midnight, and not a minute later. If these rules were all obeyed, then why shouldn't the teens be allowed to do what they wanted?

When Melody had left the club last year, everyone had been in a state of confusion. Who would sing now? Someone random? Harmony seldom sang, because she was always on the drums and was too shy, plus she also liked to have Cori have his time in the spotlight, as she was teaching him how to play the drums. Coral sang like a dying whale. Stephen was no better than Coral. So, what would happen? And as it turned out, things did work themselves. Finally, someone stepped up, albeit hesitantly, but became the lead singer for the club again. And so, Catfish Club---The Next Generation, was still around, thanks to that person.

"Just show me ya scales child." Sebastian grumbled, as Harmony laughed again, swimming up to her full height and twirling around with her tail, showing Sebastian her 'scales'. The crab wasn't amused. "Harmony if you can't take this seriously, maybe I should tell ya mothar!" The old crab warned, as the girl only shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh no please!" Harmony said, dropping onto her tail, as though she was begging. "Please don't tell my Mother! I'll do anything for you not to tell my _Mothar_!" Harmony giggled again, imitating Seby's Jamaican accent as the crab looked at her, still not amused. Ariel had been hard to control and get to sing, yes, but eventually she always came around to it. Melody had just been born to be center stage, all eyes on her, and was always excited to start practice. Harmony though…Harmony was just…completely…Sebastian didn't know how to explain Harmony, but he knew that there must be a word to describe the girl's always apparent lack of focus.

"Dat's not funny young lady." Sebastian said, crossing his claws in front of his chest at Harmony's and sticking his chin out as though he wasn't going to let Harmony say anything like that. "I'm going to tell your Mothar if you don't stop with this fooling around." The crab threatened again to the girl, who only shrugged, a lazy smile on her lips as she didn't even care if Seby told her Mom or not.

"I'm so scared." Harmony said sarcastically, before rolling her eyes and grinning from ear to ear as she saw Sebastian's still 'I'm not impressed' expression. "Alright Seby, I'll do my scales." Harmony said with a theatrical sigh, as her band laughed, and Sebastian got ready to scold the girl for her lack of tune. But, that never happened, seeing as how when Harmony let out a single 'ahh' not from her throat…everyone was enraptured. Her voice was…so like her mother's…but at the same time, _better_.

* * *

**Oh Harmony, you really do make me laugh, what with you making fun of Seby and all...**

**So guess what? My friend (who's a very talented artist) for my birhday made me a watercolor painting of Harmony! It rocks! I LOVE IT! WOO-HOO!**

**ANd hopefully, tonight, I can post up another chapter of this story! YAAAAAY!!**


	42. Music Room Mayhem

"Harmony, that's beautiful." Athena's breathless voice said, as Harmony, startled, stopped playing the piano and humming as she looked up at her Grandma in surprise. Band practice had ended nearly and hour ago, but Harmony had chosen to stay back, telling everyone she just wanted to test out some new tunes by herself. It was usually during these times when she was alone though that her thoughts drifted back to the past, and her heart ached for what wasn't there any longer.

"Uh…um…thanks." Harmony said, her cheeks heating up so much that they were the color of her hair. Athena laughed, warmly though as she rested her hands on her niece's shoulders.

"What was it? A love song about a certain someone's betrothed…?" Athena laughed again as she saw Harmony's face go an even deeper red at the mention of her engagement.

"Mom talked to you, didn't she?" Harmony muttered, keeping her gaze on the piano keys so that she didn't have to face her Grandma. She was embarrassed enough as it was.

"She wasn't talking, she was bursting with excitement." Athena noted, her slender fingers tucking stray strands of Harmony's hair behind her ears. As usual, the girl had her hair in a single braid that fell down to her waist, but a few strands had managed to escape.

"I guess then by now everyone knows?" Harmony asked, wincing at just the thought of it. Tomorrow she started school again, and god only knew what her mother was going to do with Harmony out of the palace, and no one to talk to about wedding things. Indeed, when Harmony had come down for a late lunch/early breakfast with her family that morning her mother was talking her ear off about the wedding---which apparently was supposed to be in late March, when spring was fully around.

"You make it sound like a bad thing sweetheart." Athena noted, switching subjects. "Don't you love him?" The Grandmother wondered, resting her chin above Harmony's head. Harmony sighed heavily, before looking up at her grandmother.

"Of course I do Grandma. It's just that…I don't know…Mom's already making this huge deal out of it, and I know so are my Aunts. I'd rather just have it low key, you know, no one making this huge deal out of me getting married." Harmony sighed, wincing at the thought of how much poking and prodding her Aunts were going to do to her. Thankfully though, her Grandmother wouldn't. She knew Harmony was uncomfortable in the spotlight, so therefore she always did little as possible to put the girl in it.

"I'll see if I can get your Aunts to make it as low key as possible." Athena promised, squeezing the girl's shoulders in comfort…before a out of control mermaid came barreling into the music room, crashing into Harmony and sending the girl back to the wall.

"Kat!" The girl squealed in her happiness, hugging her niece as tight as she could manage. Yes, niece. For you see, the two year old that had barreled into Harmony and now holding onto her for dear life, was Harmony's Aunt Alissa, more known as Ali. Amazingly, Athena had gotten pregnant again (and Harmony had her doubts that this one was planned) and had given birth to a perfectly healthy, and somewhat hyper two year old, who was obsessed with Harmony, for some reason or another.

"Hey kiddo." Harmony laughed, sitting up as her baby Aunt was still hugging her neck, not wanting to let go just yet. Gently, Harmony took the girl's arms off of her, but still held the girl aloft in her arms as she stood up. "Whatcha been up to Ali?"

"Look!" The two year old said energetically, her face the picture of excitement as her red curls that fell loosely to her shoulders bounced around and she showed Harmony her new bracelet. Ali's hair was red, but not as fiery as either Ariel or Harmony. It was more like Athena's now graying hair used to be, a muted form of red. "Pretty?" The two year old questioned, biting her bottom lip as she worried her favorite niece wouldn't like her new bracelet.

"Very pretty." Harmony agreed, as the mergirl smiled brightly and wrapped her little arms around Harmony's neck again.

"Ali, your supposed to be in the nursery taking a nap." Athena's disapproving gentle tone said to the two year old, who in turn looked up at her mother with a happy still expression.

"No nap. I wanna play with Kat!" The two year old said, brightly looking up at her mother with a happy expression. Apparently, the two year old had heard Emma talking with Harmony and had heard her say 'Kat', and so, from then forth, Harmony became Kat to the two year old.

"Harmony, can you put her back down for a nap? She'll just throw a tantrum if I try to." Athena sighed, looking at her youngest daughter with a mixture of knowing and a mixture of 'this is completely new'.

"Sure." Harmony said, not missing a beat. "Ali, do you know a big girl that could show me your room?" Harmony said, her voice and expression completely sincere towards the mergirl, who squealed in delight and swam out of Harmony's arms, before taking the girl's hand and pulling her along. For a two year old, she had a lot of strength.

"I can show you, I can show you!" Ali said, happy as a clam as she tugged on Harmony's hand again to show the girl her room. And then maybe, they could play with her all her toys!

"Will you stay for dinner Harmony? We barely get to see you anymore." Athena's voice said, despite the 'come one Kat!' coming from her little daughter, who kept trying to pull Harmony along. Hamrony bit her lip, thinking it through. If she stayed, she'd get the worst of it over with from her Aunts. But if she stayed for dinner…bleh! She hated eating merpeople cuisine. It was like lettuce; the girl couldn't stand it, and plus it always made her sick, though she usually blamed that on her medication so she didn't hurt anyone's feelings. Maybe she could stay for a little bit, pretend to eat, and then head over to Emma's to eat some pizza since today was of course, the day when the new SpongeBob episodes come out…

"Hold on kid." Harmony said to the mergirl, who kept whining about Harmony not coming along fast enough. But Harmony had to think this all through first.

"I'll talk to them about keeping it low key." Athena promised again, before turning to her daughter who was really starting to be quite annoying. "Ali, if you don't stop your going to go to bed without dinner." Immediately, little Ali sobered up and became quiet. It was an empty threat; Athena had heard Harmony once mention that it was a common used threat on her as a child, and she usually had been sent to bed with a stomach complaining for food. Still, Athena didn't have it in her not to give the little girl her dinner, even if she'd been bad. But empty threats worked just as well, perhaps better.

"Alright. I'll stay for dinner." Harmony sighed, as her Grandmother smiled and kissed her Granddaughter's forehead, before leaning down and kissing little Ali too.

"I'll see you both later then. Be good Ali." Athena warned, as her young daughter nodded energetically, before pulling Harmony again and making the girl start moving, and wondering if what she'd chosen was a wise idea after all.

* * *

**The next chapter will be really good, I promise! It'll be about Harmony at the dinner table....**


	43. What Can I Say? The Family LOVES Me

"Harmony, it's so good to see you!" Arista voice said, hugging her niece tightly for a moment as the girl entered the dining room. If Arista wasn't so slow, Harmony summarized in her mind, she would've figured out that this was more of a personal favor to Athena than anything. Right now, Harmony could be wearing her old sweats and eating a truck load of pizza over at Emma's. As it was the girl was going to be pissed off that Harmony would be late.

"Tsk, you never stop by and say hello! You always just go to the music room, and I never get to see you!" Aquata scolded, taking her niece away from Arista and hugging the girl before pushing her in the direction of yet another Aunt.

"Aquata's right Harmony. It's been ages since I last saw you!" Alana scolded her niece, hugging the girl all the same though before pushing her in the direction of, of course, another Aunt.

"You grew again since the last time you were here!" Andrina said with a smile, a happy smile to her niece as she huggged the girl against her for a moment, before Harmony escaped her arms, not willing to be pushed in the direction of another Aunt. What she hadn't expected though was for her Aunt to be literally next to Andrina.

"You got _engaged _since you were last here! Harmony I'm so happy for you! Oh, you have to tell me everything about it, you _have _to!" Adella said with a squeal of pure delight, ignoring all that her mother had told her earlier about trying to keep it low key, for Harmony's sake.

"Be quiet Adella, we're not supposed to make a big deal out of it." Attina scolded her younger sister, with a conspirator wink towards her oldest niece. "At least, were not supposed to make a big deal about it now, but after dinner your going to tell us everything. And that's not a request young lady." Attina ordered in her motherly voice, kissing Harmony's forehead tenderly with love.

In the time since Harmony was fourteen, Attina had become Queen of Atlantica. With a sharp, bright mind, and a tongue that equaled, many thought it had been due time the King and Queen stepped down to give their oldest daughter the privilege. Plus, Triton and Athena wanted to spend more time with their newest little baby daughter, Alissa.

"Yeah sure. You keep thinking what you want Aunt Attina. My lips are sealed with super glue. I'm not letting a word out." Harmony said with a shrug and a wicked glare in her eyes, almost as if challenging her Aunt to say something about the girl's behavior. Attina didn't comment on her niece's words, but she did look over at her sisters with a concerned expression at Harmony's use of language.

"HARMONY!" A screamed voice---or rather, voices called, as Harmony's eyes went wide, and the girl quickly muttered what seemed like a swear under her breath.

All of the girl's cousins, excluding Coral and Cori who had released the children of hell onto Harmony, were racing towards her at breakneck speeds, all at once too. BAM! Harmony crashed backwards from the weight of eight of her cousins, boys and girls, bombarding her. That was going to leave a bruise, the girl thought with a grimace to herself, as the babble of eight voice arose in her ears. With only one simple hand motion, all eight children suddenly found themselves incapable of speech.

"Seriously guys, I know you love me and all, but damn, there's no need to try and _kill_ me." Harmony said, pushing off Myra, her fifteen year old cousin, off of her tail as it was starting to ache. "Crap, that's going to be another bruise. Mom is going to be so happy." Harmony muttered under her breath with a sarcastic roll of her eyes, thinking of just how happy her mother would be. Oh yes, Ariel would be jumping with joy when she saw yet another big bruise on Harmony. Sitting up straight and seeing happy, bright, but protesting still faces all around her, Harmony grinned. "You know, I actually kind of like you guys this way. And you know, I don't think I know how to reverse the spell…." There was a mix of giggles and are-you-serious expressions going to all her cousins, as they quickly brushed themselves off and stood up.

"Harmony, return their voices to them. You know better than to use your powers---" Attina's disapproving tone was cut short by a perfect imitation of her voice, right down to the T.

"Without being in controlled environment where you can't hurt anything---or anyone for that matter." It was a snide, smirking voice that finished the imitation, making Attina whirl around and shoot her daughter a deadly glare. A laugh sounded from Coral, who Harmony was certainly rubbing off on far too much these days, before the girl quickly slid into her seat next to her brother.

"Yeah! You could've hurt me!" Myra said, mock anger in her voice as she pushed Harmony's shoulder and made the girl shrug and grin a lazy grin that she'd picked up from John. "Wait! I can talk again!" Myra said, realization finally hitting her that she was able to speak again.

"I call dibs on Harmony sitting next to me!" A small voice piped up, as the owner of the voice tried to wrestle her way through the crowd of cousins and to Harmony. Upon finally reaching the girl, Serene's face lit up so brightly that it almost looked like a Christmas tree. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a side pony tail, and her floppy bangs kept getting into her eyes, annoying the girl to no degree. She wasn't so gullible anymore, but still, being the youngest of the bunch still made her the target of many jokes. Right now, the girl was trying to figure out what the mysterious 'F word' was. Her mother had dropped the brush and gasped when Serene had asked her, and her other Aunts and cousins hadn't been much help either. So, in a way, the girl was really hoping Harmony would tell her.

"NO! She's sitting next to me! I have actually stuff to show her Serene-y!" Shawn's voice argued with his sister, his brown eyes flashing angrily at her. At fourteen, and officially old enough to go to the Catfish Club, the boy had been thinking himself pretty cool as of late.

"Your both idiots. She's sitting next to me, right Harmony?" Nina's voice piped up, a harsh edge on it. Lately, the twelve year old had been going through a kind of rebellion phase. Now she was experimenting with vulgar language, and she wasn't so quiet and nice as she'd once been.

"Nuh-uh! Harmony's going to sit next to me because I've gotta show her how good I've gotten at _When Zombies Attack_." Ashton said, puffing out his eleven year old chest in pride. For his eleventh birthday, Harmony had surprised all her family by getting the boy a Nintendo D.S.---which was actually waterproof (well, waterproof thanks to her little spell). The boy was crazy about his Nintendo D.S, and the games that Harmony had gotten him for it.

"Sorry kiddo's, but um, she's sitting next to me." Myra's voice said, a smirk on her features as she looked at her younger cousins. At fifteen, she had her very first boyfriend now, and was 'totally and completely head over fins for him'.

"I'm not a kid! I'm thirteen!" Jessie's voice practically screeched out, her arms crossing over her band---er, shells. She'd recently switched from a band to actual shells, and was still getting used to their uncomfortable feel. "And she's sitting next to _me_. So _haha_!"

"Pshht, your still just a kid. _I'm_ fourteen, way more mature than you." Aza's voice snorted, before turning to Harmony with a puppy dog pout. "You wouldn't want to disappoint your favorite cousin and not sit next to me, right?" Aza's pout was utterly heartbreaking…but one person in particular didn't think so.

"Ewk. Why is your face so _weird_?" Collin inquired to his sister's scowl, his smirk evident on the thirteen year olds face. "Besides, I have to talk to Harmony about this really cool thing…"

Collin's voice set off a time bomb, and pretty soon all of Harmony's cousin's were squaballing over who Harmony should sit next to, while their Mother's tried to get them all under control. Whilist this was going on, Harmony slipped away from her cousins, and slipped into her seat next in between Coral and Cori, where she'd planned on sitting all along. She _could've_ broken up the fight earlier…but, then again, when someone was fighting over you, why make them stop?

* * *

**Next chapter the better stuff happens, I promise! There's going to be a food fight...**


	44. A Food Fight and Bloodshot Eyes

"What am I supposed to be _eating_?!" Harmony's barely audible voice said to Coral, who grinned as she heard her cousin's voice through a mouthful of her dinner.

"It's Plankton Pâté. Give it to Cori if you don't want it." Coral said with a grin, as Harmony nodded quickly, and stealthily moved the platee from her plate onto Cori's, who's eyes widened in happiness at more food. But, the girl was smart too. She moved just the right amount to make it seem as though she'd eaten the pâté onto Cori's plate, but not too much to make it seem as though she wanted more. Teenage boys were _always_ eating machines.

"I still don't see why you wouldn't sit next to _me_." Serene moped, eating through her dinner at a slow, mopey speed to prove her point. Harmony just shrugged at the girl, this way not hurting her feelings by telling her the truth; that she'd rather sit next to Coral and Cori, who she was more comfortable with.

"Serene, isn't it obvious why Harmony didn't sit next to you?" Coral asked, fake unknowing in her voice towards her youngest cousin. At hearing that, her mother shot her a warning look, telling her not to try anything funny or she would be beached. But the opportunity was just so great, what with the entire family---including the adults, listening in to see what was the reason. "It's because she'd _enga-aged_, which means that she's too cool now that she's gonna be married to sit next to little kids." Coral said, neatly dodging the elbow and the harsh look sent her way at that statement from Harmony.

"Tha-that's not nice." Serene said, her bottom lip trembling as she actually believed what her cousin said. Usually Harmony would sit next to Serene…and now, the sudden change was really hurting the young girl. It made sense, that Harmony was going to be married and she didn't want to sit next to little kids, 'cuz she was 17. Still, it hurt that Harmony didn't like her anymore. Well, who needed Harmony anyway?! She was a big girl, she didn't need Harmony anymore! And besides, the girl wasn't even acknowledging Serene as a big girl! Ooh! That just made the little girl _mad_. "I hate you." Serene said quickly to Harmony, using that as her excuse for leaving the dinner table as she swam out of the dining room leaving bubbles in her wake.

The dining table was silent, for once. Attina stared murderously down at her daughter. Andrina looked worried for Serene. Athena was praying Harmony didn't do anything stupid.

"Alright Coral. Two can play at your sadistic game." Harmony said, staring down at her younger cousin with a calmness in her tone and eyes…but underneath that raged a storm. Harmony felt actually a little hurt that Serene would hate her, and all because of what Coral had said. Well, this is for you Serene, the girl said mentally, before titling her head to the side and looking at her Aunt Attina.

"Coral got drunk at my engagement ball in Westland, went outside with absolutely _no_ adult supervision, and had her back pressed against the back door of the ballroom as she made out with this guy named Alec. Everyone found out what they were doing when they saw her pressed up against the door, her tongue in his mouth." Harmony said, her calm, clear voice floating across the table to each and everyone's ears. The adult's eyes went from normal, to shocked in disbelief. Attina was shaking with anger. Darren was trying not to have his wife kill his daughter. Coral lunged for Harmony's throat with a shriek.

Harmony neatly dodged Coral's attempt at grabbing her throat. Oh, but the girl was too angry to be done with trying to kill Harmony. Grabbing a fist full of Plankton Pâté, the girl threw it at Harmony's face. With only the slightest tilt of her head though, the pâté went off track from Harmony's face, and instead went across the table and hit Myra right in the face. The girl shrieked in anger as her face was filled with dinner, so she grabbed some off of her plate and with a single move, threw it at Coral. Of course, she missed and it landed on Cori, who tried to throw some back at Myra but ended up hitting Shawn. Then it was an all out war between the merchildren.

"STOP IT!" The adult's shrieked at their children, but they were no match for the flying food that was sent every which direction. Harmony was now, like the rest of her cousins, covered in food as she threw what was on her plate at her cousins with no regard whatsoever as to what was going to happen later to her.

"YOUR DEAD!" Cousins shrieked out, throwing their food at one another with no regards to their parents, who they new would beach them all separately that night when they were being tucked into their beds.

"STOP!" A deadly voice boomed, making everyone of the children stop what they were doing. Harmony's hand was in midair, about the throw a handful of red pâté at Ash who'd deliberately thrown some at her face when she heard the voice boom. The patee in her hand went slack, and fell onto Cori's head with barely a noise, as everyone of the children, besides Harmony of course, looked up with dread at their Grandfather.

"Get to your rooms. Now." Triton's voice was not to be messed with. At all. Slowly, the children, with hearts pumping in fear, filed out from the dining room to go to their rooms without complaint. Harmony was the last one of the line, officially having it resolved in her mind that the moment she was out of sight, she would go to Emma's and be safe, for the time being.

"Not you Harmony." Attina's voice rang out, equally as furious as her father at Harmony trying to escape. With a soft sigh, Harmony swam back to the table, this time sitting as far away as possible from any of the adults because she knew what would happen now. Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited for the lecture to begin so she could start to zone out already. After waiting two minutes though and nothing happening, the girl gave an impatient sigh and turned her blue eyes onto her family.

"Gawd you all are so fucking _boring_." The girl said with an impatient and ill tempered sigh, as emotions crossed over all of her Aunts, Uncles, Grandfather and Grandmother's eyes.

"Your mother didn't raise you to swear like a common hooligan." Aquata snapped at her niece, finally losing her cool first. One dinner, just one, and Harmony manages to make all the children get into a food fight, and have herself put in this predicament. Harmony's eyes flashed and her jaw tightened.

"Ariel _didn't _raise me, so I can say whatever I damn well please." Harmony snapped right back, her voice a mockery of everything that any of the adults could say.

"How in the oceans did you ever managed to catch some young man's eye by swearing like that." Alana muttered under her breath, though the words were heard by Harmony…and felt like a stab of pain to the girl's heart. Her eyes narrowed at her Aunt, filled with the crystal fire she was so famous for. But, before she could tell her Aunt exactly what she wanted to, a voice interrupted.

"Harmony, your seventeen. Your engaged. It's time to stop acting like a child and to start acting like an adult." Athena kept her mouth shut as she heard her husband's words, though they made her ache like hell. Those were the exact words her own parents had told her when she was a girl of seventeen…and ultimately, those were the words that held the key to her shadowed past.

"Your grandfather is right Harmony." Attina's voice gentled as she spoke towards her niece, whom she knew hadn't had it easy all her life. "Leave your childhood in the past and just focus on your new adulthood." Attina's words struck a cord through Harmony, a harsh cord that cut through her heart. The girl rested her head in her hands, refusing to look up at anyone for the moment…until finally, she managed to look up, her eyes bleary, almost bloodshot.

"You make it sound like it's the easiest thing in the world to just let go of your childhood…but then again, you've all led sheltered lives." A thin, humorless smile spread the girl's lips at that. Arista was about to complain, that no, they hadn't, but her husband squeezed her hand, a silent message for her to let their niece finish. "My arms are covered in scars because I cut them. My parents…" Here Harmony gave a bitter laugh as she continued on. "My parents think I'm a freak, and can't love me for who I am because of what I can't control. My childhood was compromised of parents getting drunk, yelling, screaming, and then beating me. When I go to sleep, I see blood, tears, torture…things that would _kill_ you. And worst of all, my brother is dead because…of me. Trust me, my childhood isn't something I can just 'let go' of easily." A single sob escaped Harmony's lips, as she quickly shook her head and pushed herself away from the table. Everyone was to shocked to utter a word.

"T-tell Ariel I'm sleeping o-over Em's tonight." Harmony said, tears starting to develop in her eyes as she quickly tried to shake them away. Closing her eyes tightly, she disappeared from everyone's view.

* * *

**Poor Harmony. :( I feel bad for her, I mean, she's only seventeen...*sigh***

**Well, then just review!**

**Oh! ANd I almost forgot! Today it's 43 degrees outside! Except, since it's RAINING (yes I know. While the rest of America is covered in snow, we have rain) it feels like 36! I'm going to freeze today! GAH! But, the weather channel said that there was a possibility of snow! SNOW! In MIAMI! My Mom said that the last time it snowed in Miami it was like '78 or something, and she was like, 12! I hope it does snow! Cross your fingers!**

**P.S. Remember to vote on what dress Harmony should wear to her wedding! Please remember to do so! I like dress #2, but in all I could take either one of them. So please, please, please vote. **


	45. Secrets and Thumb Suckers

"What's wrong Athena?" Triton called from his bed to his wife, who was distractedly brushing through her red hair, not really focusing on anything but her troublesome thoughts. Athena sighed, shaking her head as if erasing the thoughts…but they didn't go away.

"Your wrong." The woman put simply, brushing through her hair as she frowned at her reflection in the mirror, thinking through all this very hard. Harmony was like her when she was that age, more so than anyone would ever think. But, the woman had hidden her past long ago, promising herself that it was a chapter of her life that didn't need to be re-read. That was just it though. Seeing Harmony, how the girl struggled to be normal…it hit just a little too close to home for Athena.

"Am I?" Triton asked, raising his white brows as his wife nodded, but did nothing more than that. "And what am I wrong about?" Triton prodded his wife, as though she was a child instead of a woman.

"You said it was time for Harmony to stop acting like a child, and to grow up." Athena put simply again, brushing through the tangles of her hair with a small sigh to herself. Not because of the gray in her hair; no, she'd expected that would happen sooner or later, and was growing old with grace. She sighed because she knew all to well what Harmony was thinking, and she knew all to well why the girl the yearned for something that wasn't there.

"What's wrong with that?" Triton wondered, completely oblivious. And how could he not be? Indeed, Athena mused, his childhood had been full of fun, adventure upon adventure. All he'd worried about as a child was someday growing to be a good king. What a stupid worry, Athena mused again to herself silently.

"Harmony _is_ a child. She's seventeen. For goodness sake, she still goes to school!" Athena's voice said, a bit annoyed at her husband for taking all this so lightly. Of course, in twenty some years there was bound to be some changes in the man she loved, but gracious, did he have to be so dull in the head? Couldn't he understand where Harmony was coming from when she said that there was no chance she could let go of her past?!

"What are you really mad at Athena?" Triton asked with a sigh towards his wife, knowing that his words earlier weren't the only cause of her annoyance. She turned and looked at him with those green eyes he'd first fallen in love with when he was a young man. Her gaze seemed cold…but after a moment, she shook it off, as though it was nothing.

"It's nothing dear. Forget I said a word." Athena sighed, running her fingers through her red locks just to make sure there were no wayward knots in her hair.

"No. Tell me. I want to know." Triton urged, a hopeful ring in his voice. Athena sighed, closing her eyes a moment before looking back up into the mirror…and seeing a younger version of herself in it. Her hair was back to it's original muted red color, but it was in tangles as it loosely fell to her hips. Her face had an expression of hopelessness of it, and her eyes were bloodshot. Along her bare arms were scattered bruises, some darker than others, as if they were just days, or rather hours old.

"Athena?" Triton asked, sitting up in his bed with furrowed brows as to what his wife was looking at so deeply in the mirror. Startled though, the former Queen nearly jumped out of her skin as she looked away from the mirror, wincing at the image that came back to her when she did.

"Sorry." The woman quickly apologized, blinking off her fears and the tears that might have filled in her eyes, had she not pushed them aside so fast that they went away. She was a mother and a grandmother now, she had no sense in being scared. That was years and years and years ago Athena, her mind scolded. It wasn't her problem to deal with anymore. Sadly though, now it was Harmony's. If she hadn't been so stupid, she could've held onto it, controlled it, and made her granddaughter's life a peaceful one. But instead, she'd gone to the sea witch in tears and bruises, begging her to take them away, somehow, and to let her be free from the curse that was overtaking her life.

"Athena, are you alright?" Triton asked, alarm in his tone as he looked at his wife who was still sitting at her vanity. Athena swallowed, hard, as she felt the guilt rise up in her heart for what she'd done. It was like being a teenager all over again, her mind said, as she winced at the memories she tried to keep bottled up and hidden away.

"Yes. I'm fine." Athena answered, though she knew she was far from it. It was her fault Harmony had a horrible life. It was her fault that Harmony was scared of her nightmares. It was her fault Harmony ached for the adopted brother she'd known and loved, until he died. It was all her fault. If she had just kept them, Harmony would have never disappeared when she was a baby. If she had just dealt with them, like the girl does now, then Harmony would never had had a brother, and would have never seen him die because her entire life would have been spent with Ariel and Eric, a sheltered life of a princess. It was all her fault that Harmony had powers.

"No your not, and what's frustrating me is that I can't figure out why." Triton said, putting a palm to his forehead in his mounting frustration. Of course, he'd been more than ecstatic when Athena had been returned to him, by his wayward granddaughter too---and amazingly, all the girl had asked for in return was full access to the Atlantican library. Still, though their relationship had been a bit awkward at the beginning after twenty some years of Athena being gone, things had gone without a hitch…until recently. Triton had been noticing his wife watching Harmony more and more lately, and sighing to herself in hurt when the girl swam off because she was upset---even when it wasn't Athena's fault. The worst part was that she wouldn't tell him why she was, or rather, what was wrong with her. But he was determined to find out.

"Triton, leave it be. The past is better left far behind." Athena said with a sigh, swimming into bed with her husband as she couldn't bare to look in the mirror any longer and see everything that she'd been trying so hard to keep down.

"Athena---" Triton was suddenly cut off as he heard a yawn, and his head snapped in the direction of…his baby Alissa. Well, technically she was his last baby. He'd let Ariel go way to quickly, but now that he had Alissa, well, he was going to make sure that didn't happen again.

"Ali? Sweetie, what's wrong?" Athena asked, switching from depressed mode to motherly panic mode. Her baby yawned again, barely staying afloat on her tail as she was too tired. A stuffed dolphin and blanky trailed after the little girl, falling onto the floor as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"I had a bad dream." The little girl whispered, yawning again as she looked up at her Mommy and Daddy and wondered what they were going to do about her bad dream.

"Oh, I see." Athena murmured, before smiling a knowing smile at her husband as this brought back one too many memories of their now adult daughters doing the same thing. "Alright then, come here. You can sleep with us tonight." Ali wasted no time in swimming towards her parents, almost crashing into her father in the process. Triton grinned at baby, before setting her in between him and his wife in their bed.

"Goodnight Ali." Triton said with an amused expression, watching as the little girl yawned, before looking up at her father with big green eyes, so much like her mother's, and holding up her blanky and stuffed dolphin to him too.

"You say goodnight to Mr. FlippyFloppy and blanky too Daddy!" The two year old said, up most knowing in her voice because, of course, at two years old she knew almost _everything_.

"She's right Triton. What kind of world would we live in if you didn't say goodnight to your daughter's best friends?" Athena wondered, on the verge of giggles as she pushed all previous thoughts from her mind and just focused on her little girl.

"I guess I have no choice then." Triton said with a sigh, but still a smile as he saw the two year old struggling to keep awake long enough so that she could hear her father say goodnight to her best friends. "Goodnight Mr. FlippyFloppy. Goodnight blanky." Triton said, before kissing his daughter's red head. "And goodnight Ali." The two year old fell fast asleep on top of her father after that, her thumb slowly going into her mouth as she curled up with her stuffed animal and blanky.

"Athena?" Triton asked, his brows furrowing as he tried to get his wife's attention. This was done in vain though, because he soon realized his wife was fast asleep, her tail crossing over his and her arms draped across the small child who had fallen asleep on top of her father. It was a picturesque scene, and it made Triton smile as he started to slowly drift off into dream world…before a troubling thought entered his mind.

What was his wife hiding from him?


	46. Please, Don't Tell Me It's Time For

"Mo-om! I'm home!" Harmony called, letting her voice echo through the palace as she breathed on her fingers that were sore from the cold. Nebraska usually had bad winters, and this year was no exception. Even when inside of school Harmony could feel the cold, because the heater had broken down in the school, and everyone was stuck shivering through history.

"Harmony, for the thousandth time, no yelling." Ariel's admonishing voice broke through to her daughter, as she stepped into the girl's view with a extremely annoyed expression.

"Sorry. Reflex reaction." Harmony said with a grin to her Mother, shrugging out of her thick jacket and taking off her warm gloves. The palace was always warm, it seemed.

"Mhm, a reflex reaction that doesn't go away for three years." Ariel said with a sigh, shaking her head at her still grinning daughter. "Anyway honey, I was hoping you'd come home a little early. There's something that…" Ariel trailed off unsurely, before looking back at Harmony and raising her brows. The girl was jumping about, trying to take off her sweatshirt which was stuck covering her head. With a laugh, Ariel's gentle fingers moved the heavy sweatshirt over her daughter's head, making Harmony's messed up red head poke out with a grin planted on her face.

"Gracias." The girl said, though Ariel didn't understand. While the Queen may be fluent in French, English, and Pig Latin (it was always amusing to listen to Harmony's conversations in Pig Latin with Emma, with the girl thinking her mother too dull to understand what she was saying) Spanish was…not one of those languages that she could understand. At all. "I've got a ton of homework to do, so I'm going to head up to my room, 'kay?" Harmony said, taking her sweatshirt and thick jacket in her arms as she started to maneuver her way from Ariel.

"Wait honey!" Ariel said, catching her daughter's arm before the girl could escape. Sighing an impatient sigh, Harmony turned around to her mother, with her arms crossing over her chest in annoyance. "I wanted to show you something…" Ariel said, her voice sincere. Harmony's brows raised in skepticism.

"And what would that be exactly?" Harmony's slow voice questioned. Her mother just smiled, her eyes lighting up as she pulled Harmony along behind her. "Oh you'll see." Ariel said brightly, but muttered under her breath, "and you'll hate me for the next few days." Harmony's brows went up in full skepticism, not understanding why or where her mother was taking her….actually, now that she looked around, it seemed her mother was taking her…to her room?!

"Um…why are you taking me to my room?" Harmony asked, almost in fear at what was awaiting her in her room. "What's waiting for me in my room? What did you do now Mother?!" Harmony asked, now fearing what her mother could have done to her now. Ariel only looked back at her daughter with an innocent expression.

"I just want to show you something, that's all." Ariel said, innocently enough, though Harmony didn't trust her as far as she could throw her. Which, according to her gym grade, wasn't very far.

"Riiiiighhht." Harmony said, before she instantly had a bout of déjà vu. She'd seen this same scene, her being pulled along by Ariel, and a skeptical look on her face before. She'd seen it that day when she was fourteen---er, thirteen---and, as Ariel put it 'finally came home'. As Harmony put it, that was the day her life 'became all screwy.' It wasn't a fond memory, to say the least.

Finally arriving at her room, Harmony, while staring down her Mother, cautiously opened up her room door. Her room was empty. Ariel had an innocent expression on her face, as though this was completely normal. Harmony didn't trust it for an instant.

"Why don't you change into a dress sweetie? There's plenty in your dressing room." Ariel said innocently, watching as Harmony slipped her feet out of her converse, and kicked them off into a side of the messy room. Harmony had requested that no one 'clean up' her room. Her request would have been overlooked, but it was a puppy dog pout to her father and a crocidile promise that she would keep it organized and clean herself that had made her father convince her mother to let Harmony's room be.

"My jeans are comfy enough." Harmony said, pulling out one of the drawers that contained, as Ariel put it, her 'school clothes'. As Harmony put it, her 'normal clothes'.

"But it's not…proper for a young lady, especially a young, _engaged_, _princess_, to be going around in pants that are so…_tight_." Ariel winced as she saw Harmony take out the jeans anyway, and go behind her dressing screen.

"Don't forget ripped Mom." Harmony added, grinning as she pulled on her tight, ripped jeans that showed off her curves in just the slightest of *ahem* flirty ways. So what if she was engaged? She loved John, but he couldn't really expect her to tone down her appearance just for him. After all, at seventeen, she was at the height of her youth! Pretty soon she'd be looking like that old heifer…er, um, her mother.

"Yes, of course." Ariel said with a grimace. "Why on earth you'd get something that was already ripped is beyond me." Ariel muttered, sighing and shaking her head as she looked at Harmony, who reappeared from behind her screen. She was just in a long sleeve shirt with the name 'Kathy' airbrushed on the back of it now, and, of course, ripped jeans. Her socks were rainbow striped, the toes wiggling as they could feel the cold through the floor.

"It's called fashion Mom. It doesn't have to have a…." Harmony trailed off, losing her train of thought as she looked longingly and hurtfully at a couple of boxes in the corner of her room.

There were maybe just two or three, all brown and stacked on top of each other, with a sharpie name written on each of them. Harmony had managed to clean out most of her stuff from her old house, which was uninhabited since Janice moved to the city, and Austin moved to an even bigger city. They'd left all her and Ryan's things back at the old house. But the girl wasn't finished. Every time she went back to that old house, her memories were just too strong, and she never managed to clean out really anything before she broke down in tears and came back to the palace, running to her room and crying into her pillow.

"I'm sorry." Ariel said softly, following her daughter's gaze to the boxes. Harmony still hadn't managed to take anything out of them, or show anything to her parents. It hurt Ariel more than she let on how hurt her daughter was.

"It's just junk. Nothing more." Harmony's eyes stung with tears that she wouldn't cry, and her throat burned as it closed up on her. But she wouldn't cry; not here, not now.

"Why don't you get changed into a dress? I'm sure there's a simple one in your dressing room." Ariel's voice said, changing the topic of the non-conversation with her daughter. Harmony let her shoulders go up and down in a shrug, as the girl wiped away at her tears with the back of her sleeve. Ariel, politely and worriedly, said not a word about any of this, as she lead Harmony to her dressing room.

"Your Majesty." Someone's voice caught Harmony's immediate attention, as she looked up…and saw the seamstress, and her gaggle of assistants---or gossips, whichever is easier to call them. "Princess."

"_Please_ don't tell me what I think this is." Harmony groaned, whirling around to her innocent still looking mother, who pursed out her lips and gave the girl a small, superior smile. "Please don't tell me…." Harmony trailed off with another groan, covering her face with her hands as she thought of the horrible, terrifying fact. Ariel just smiled her little superior smile at her daughter, before saying aloud the fact the girl was dreading.

"You need to be fitted for your wedding dress."

* * *

**Okay, so yes, it's been FOREVER since i've updated. SORRY! I had writers block! Sue me! But, it's all gone now. Hopefully...I also have an excuse! It's midterms week at school! Well, technically, that can't really count as an excuse. The only midterms I studied for were spanish (most definitely FAILED that one!) and math (I had to do 132 math problems for my 'review' ALL TONIGHT! I could have done them before, since we've had the assignment since like, last week, and we had class time to do it...but, as you all know, I'm very lazy!) which I'm a bit nervous for, seeing as how that's my worst subject. I've never been good in math. My brother is though. But then again, he's TERRIBLE at English, which I'm amazing at. This is how I always manage to make money over the summer, without doing anything but reading. My brother pays me to read his summer reading! It's the best job in the world! **

**Anyway, back down to planet earth, I've got to turn my computer in for tonight. But don't worry guys; school ends at 9:30 tomorrow (we only have one exam...and that exam for me, is, of course, MATH!) and then I have a four day weekend! No school on friday (teacher work day) and Monday is some type of holiday where we're supposed to celebrate someone, but we never do...anyway, that means I'll be writing about Harmony all weekend, so REVIEW ALL MY CHAPTERS!**

**P.S. This is your last chance to vote on what dress Harmony should wear to her wedding! Poll closes Thursday night, when I announce what dress had the most votes! The poll is on my profile, so if you want a say in any of this, check it out and vote!**


	47. Harmony's Dress

"Stay still!" The seamstress clucked, tsking her tongue as she tried to take Harmony's measurements, for the thousandth time and didn't get anywhere because the girl kept wiggling around. "Princess, I can't take your measurements if you're not still." The seamstress sighed, as her gaggle of gossipy assistants gossiped about someone…or something.

"I don't even want to have my measurements taken." Harmony grumbled under her breathe, looking longingly at the couch in her dressing room…and the sketch book that was set on top of it.

"Well, you have to get married in _something_." Madame Vermeil muttered under her breath, before sighing again. Princess Melody had been easy to handle; the girl had stood still, did what she was told, and never once talked back. Princess Harmony on the other hand was the exact opposite. "If you're not going to stand still Princess, than you might as well start looking through the sketches of what dress you want." The Madame said. At the word 'sketch' Harmony's face lit up like a Christmas tree. At the word 'dress' her expression deflated terribly. Still, the girl practically ran towards the couch, and grabbed her own sketch book.

"Here, Princess." An assistant said softly, holding out a bunch of papers that had sketches of wedding dresses on them. Harmony reached out an arm and grabbed them all, but didn't pay the slightest attention as she was so focused on sketching.

"This is so pretty." Ariel murmured, taking the sketches away from her too absorbed daughter and looking through them herself. One dress in particular caught her eye---mostly because it looked similar to the one she'd worn at her own wedding. "What do you think Harmony?" Ariel asked, turning to her daughter with a hopeful expression. Harmony waved a hand upwards in response.

"Yeah, yeah, it's cool Mom." The girl said, not really focusing on her mother at all as her hand flew across the page of her sketch book. Ariel gave a sigh. How it was that Harmony could be engaged and still act as though nothing had happened? For goodness sake, she wouldn't even put her own input into what dress she wanted to wear for her own wedding!

"Oh that's…." Madame something-French-sounding-name started, but her voice never went further than that in Harmony's ears. The girl was focused on her sketch intently, making sure to draw every line perfectly. Her hand flew across the stage as her mind had fuzzy idea that was becoming clearer, and clearer as she sketched.

Yes…she remembered this dress she was sketching. She remembered working her fingers to the bone as she tossed papers onto lawns for months straight, when dawn's first rays were just beginning to shine. She remembered staring at that dress in the window, and hoping that she could have it. She remembered the night of her eighth grade end-of-the-year formal…she remembered putting that dress on, and for just one moment, feeling like a princess as she looked in the mirror. She remembered…*shudder*.

She remembered crying. She remembered screaming. Bruises littered her arms, her face looked like it had come from hell. She remembered staring at that dress, the dress she'd worked so hard for…and it was just…destroyed. Nothing but a pile of rags. If that wasn't bad enough, the girl had missed her eighth grade formal. The one dance that would say 'hey, I'm finally leaving middle school'…and she'd missed it. The thought made Harmony shudder again.

Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Harmony's hand finally stopped working across the page…and she stared down in awe at the dress. It was an exact replica of the one she'd had loved so dearly when she was fourteen, with only a few minor adjustments here and there…it was…incredible.

"Can I wear this?!" Harmony's sudden, anxious voice startled both Ariel and Madame something-French-sounding-name. Harmony thrust her sketchbook into her mother's hands, and Ariel's brows rose high---so high in fact that they were covered by her bangs.

The dress was pretty; Ariel had to give it that. But it was so…not like what she'd planned though. She'd been hoping that Harmony would wear something more…girly? Like her own wedding dress even, but something at least that would scream out 'hey, I'm getting married!' The dress Harmony had sketched didn't do that one bit for Ariel.

"Honey, it's a nice dress but…" Ariel trailed off unsurely at that. What could she say nicely that wouldn't hurt Harmony's feelings? What if the girl started to get upset, either crying or mad? What would she be able to do then?! Sighing, Ariel tried again. "Are you positive you want to wear this? There's plenty other choices sweetheart, don't you think your being a bit rash?" Ariel asked in a polite tone. Harmony raised her brows as she looked over at the sketch of the dress Ariel had picked out.

"Well, I'm positive about two things." Harmony said, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes narrowed at her mother. "One, I will never, ever, ever to infinity wear something like that---ever. And two, please, just don't question me on this. Let me decide what I want. It's…kind of personal." Harmony said the first part in annoyance. The second part was said softly, her eyes holding a large amount of pain that no mother should ever have to see in their child's eyes.

"If that's what you really want Harmony, then I guess I'm alright with it." Ariel said with a sigh, a wan smile filling up her lips as she leaned in and kissed her daughter on her forehead. "I just want you to be happy honey, that's all that matters to me."

"Sweetness. So, since you want me to be happy…can I go now? That would _really _make me happy." Harmony's eyes were hopeful at the thought she could escape this stupid dressing room of hers. Ariel on the other hand though, only rolled her eyes at her daughter.

"Don't push your luck." Ariel warned, her blue eyes meeting those of her daughter's, which had an almost 'are you serious expression' to them. "Besides, you still haven't finished getting your measurements taken. Come on, get up Harmony." The last part was said with some cheer, Harmony noticed sourly as she stood up from the comfy couch to start to be pinched and prodded.

"Dream killer." Harmony muttered under her breath, directing the expression to her mother who only rolled her eyes again. That's when the window caught Harmony's attention. If she could just inch a little bit closer to it, she could unlock it, and dive through it outside….

"Don't even think about it Harmony." Ariel's voice admonished, knowing exactly what Harmony was thinking of. The girl's shoulders slumped as she realized what her mother had figured out.

"Dream killer." Harmony muttered under her breath, making Ariel start to laugh.

* * *

**Don't kill me because the past chapters haven't been good guys! I'm working up to the climax, don't worry! But it's going to take at least five or six more chapters (probably more) to get to that climax, so...**

**Anyway, the dress winner was *drumroll please*...**

**Dress number 1, ironically! This dress racked up FIVE votes (including mine...hehe)! **

**In second place comes dress 3, ironically again with THREE votes! **

**And in last place comes dress 2, with only ONE vote!**

**Thanks for voting, and keep reviewing guys! **


	48. If Norman Rockwell Painted About Soccer

"Kathy get's the ball…she dribbles down the field…she fakes out the defender…SCORE! And the crowd goes wild, ahhh, ahhh!" Harmony laughed as she moved her soccer ball around with her feet on the snowy lawn on top of one of the towers, with Max of course, bounding next to her feet and panting as she kicked the ball through the goal—which was really just her two shoes. Her parents sat on the stone steps, watching her with amused expressions, and not really minding that she was barefoot. The fact that she was actually wearing a dress was enough to make them happy.

"Maybe we should go back inside." Ariel murmured, resting her head against her husband's shoulder as she watched her daughter play around with her soccer ball with a carefree, not sarcastic, and happy attitude. It was like watching a different Harmony. Though her cheeks were red from the effort—or maybe the cold, Ariel really didn't know—the girl didn't seem to mind as she just kept trying to outwit the imaginary team in front of her.

"Not yet. Let her have a few more minutes." Eric murmured back, watching with relieved eyes as his oldest daughter tried to maneuver the ball around the old family sheep dog, Max. He'd suggested going outside when he'd seen how miserable and horrible Harmony was being after the fitting for her wedding dress which Ariel had forced her to do. Immediately Harmony had brightened up at the suggestion, and now, outside, she looked even happier. What was it about her old world that gave her that…glow, Eric wondered. Was it because it was the world she'd grown up in? Or was it because she just enjoyed that world to no degree? It seemed every time her parents asked her a question about 'Nebraska' she seemed eager to answer with a homesick longing in her eyes.

"Max, you be goalie, _I'll _be forward, okay?" Harmony said her slight accent thicker as she spoke about soccer. Both parents noticed this, but none said a word about it as they just thought it over. Whenever Harmony was speaking to anyone from this world, she only had a slight southern accent that she didn't seem to notice. But, when speaking to say, Emma, her accent became much thicker and more noticeable too. Both parents had no clue as to why this was.

"She's so happy playing." Ariel murmured, watching as Harmony tried to get the ball past the old sheep dog, which was doing a pretty good job guarding the goal. Then again, Harmony wasn't kicking the ball to hard because she'd been known for kicking the ball over the tower, and having to retrieve it.

"She is." Eric agreed, noticing how much happier Harmony was, despite the cold. "Maybe…university won't be such a bad thing for her. If she's so happy playing, I mean." Eric's voice said softly, a smile coming to his lips as his daughter complained loudly because the old sheepdog had lain down at the goal, blocking it from Harmony's use.

"I want to know that she'll make a good Queen Eric, and that won't happen if she spends all her time playing soccer and studying. She'll be happy enough with Jonathan." Ariel's voice clearly stated, in a low tone so that she didn't attract her daughter's attention. Eric sighed next to her, but whether it was a 'your most definitely right' or 'I know I shouldn't be disagreeing with you Ariel, but I still am' sigh the woman couldn't tell.

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Was all Eric answered, making his wife frown as she turned to him to find out just what exactly he meant…but discovered he wasn't next to her anymore.

"How about going against me, Harm? I think Max has had more than enough for today, haven't you boy?" Eric laughed, leaning down to ruffle his most trusted companion's (don't tell Ariel!) hair. The old dog looked up at his master for a moment, before just getting up and walking over to the steps, where Ariel was sitting on.

"You, against me? Are you sure that's wise Dad?" Harmony questioned, wondering in her eyes as her lips pursed out. Ariel laughed from the steps, but when Eric looked her way, she kept her expression completely innocent, though she couldn't quite take out the smirk in her eyes.

"I would take offense to that, but I know you only said it because you were scared." Eric brushed off the words, as Harmony's jaw went wide open, nearly dropping to the floor in protest.

"Oh your asking for it old man." Harmony said, locking her jaw as there was a challenge in her eyes. "I'll take it easy on you though, wouldn't want you to throw out your back, now would we?" Harmony's voice was a mix of teasing and sarcasm that Ariel laughed at, and Eric only shot his wife a grin at.

"Why don't we include your mother in this Harm? I'm sure she'd love to play, right Ariel?" Eric's voice was good natured teasing, but Ariel grimaced as she thought about the fact of playing against her husband _and_ daughter.

"As fun as that sounds, I think I'm just going to stay here and, er, keep score." Ariel said a painful look on her face at the thought of actually having to play soccer with her husband and daughter. She'd never been good at sports of any kind; that was Aquata's field of knowledge. Mostly, Ariel had been the girl to cheer her sister on from the stands, and very rarely played more than just a friendly game with friends.

"Suit yourself." Harmony said with a shrug to her mother, before kicking the ball off to her father. "You start. I think it'd be unfair if I did." The girl said, feeling completely triumphant that she was going to win this game against her father. That triumphant attitude was gone within a moment.

For someone who'd never played soccer before, Eric really was quite good at it, Ariel mused silently to herself, and ruffling Max's hair as the old dog lay down beside her on the stone steps. Then again, Eric still had the body build up of a twenty year old, though he was in his mid thirties.

Eric dribbled the ball passed Harmony easily, making the girl's jaw drop about twenty feet, before her mind started to work again. Quickly, she chased after her father and took the ball away from him, though he got it back just a moment later. The game was neck and neck, daughter against father…before Eric had a chance for a shot on goal! Quickly, and before the ball could go sailing through the imaginary net, Harmony dove to the ground, blocking the ball with her stomach. Emitting a painful 'ow' the girl got back up on her feet again though, and quickly chased after her father with a laugh as he was trying to dribble down the imaginary field and score.

By the time the game finished, Harmony's once pristine dress was in a state of disarray, filled with dirt stains, and it was wet from the snow. Her braid was coming undone, and her face was pure red from trying to keep up with her father. But she was still grinning, as she knew who won the game.

"Alright, Harmony, you win." Eric laughed, a little out of breath as he smoothed out his wayward black hair. The girl was tough, he'd give her that. Secretly, like most men, he's always wanted a son. But, having Harmony play probably better than most boys was just as well for her father.

"And I didn't even break out into a sweat." The girl said triumphantly, her chest hurting from the cold weather and the fact she was out of breath. "Mom, I need my inhaler." The girl said with a grimace, knowing that soon, if she didn't get a second breath, she'd be turning blue from lack of air.

"Here honey." Ariel's voice said, finally standing up from the steps as she handed her daughter her inhaler. That was one of the things that always made Ariel wonder. Melody didn't have any breathing problems. Or sight problems, for that matter…so then why did Harmony? Was it something about her world that just made children like that? "The both of you look like you could use a good bath. *Shiver* and so could I. I'm _freezing_ out here!" Ariel complained, securing her cloak tighter against her in the cold night air.

"I'm pretty warm love." Eric said with a laugh, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. Ariel grimaced and moved out of his embrace.

"Yes, but your all…ugh. _Dirty._" Ariel complained, before looking at Harmony who was using her ball to do some kind of trick. "Come on, let's go back inside before we all get sick."

"I guess your right." Eric acknowledged, walking with his wife at his arm into the palace. Ariel stopped a moment though, looking back towards Harmony with a frown on her pretty features.

"Harmony? Come on honey, it's time to come back inside." Ariel called out to her daughter, as the girl looked up at her mother with the same blue eyes that had traveled another generation.

"Just a minute." Harmony called back, before looking at the expanse of the sea. Tonight was one of those…weird nights for the girl. Everything was, for once, all…happy, and good. She wouldn't see a night like this for awhile she knew, but still…the girl couldn't quite shake off the happy feeling inside of her as she walked back inside.

* * *

**I just thought a bit of fluff would be good, you know, a break from Harmony being all depressed and her parents not understanding. :D Tell me what you think. **


	49. Hanging Out on Saturday

Weekends were a bag of mixed emotions, Harmony decided. The good part about weekends is that on nights she got to open the club, and sometimes Em got to come over. The bad part was that she always had a ton of homework, seven aunts that could never leave her alone, a fair amount of cousins that seemed to never let her out of their sight, and a mother that tried to show her off as though she was some sort of doll.

Right now, Harmony was sitting in a sort of living room place in the palace, with all her cousins, and her Aunts, mother, and grandmother keeping watch to make sure the children didn't get out of hand. The only Aunt that wasn't paying any attention towards the children, was little Alissa, who had curled up on the floor and was sleeping peacefully. Emma was next to her, giving helping her with calc homework (help in this sense meaning letting Harmony copy).

"Number 24 is 38, and number 25 is 902…" Emma read the numbers off her math homework quickly, as Harmony struggled to keep up with Emma's pace.

"Wait! Em, I can't copy that fast! What was number 25 again?" Harmony pleaded with her friend to take pity, and not say the numbers aloud so quickly. But her voice caught the attention of her mother, who looked sharply in her direction.

"Harmony your engaged; must I still lecture you on copying homework?" It was Ariel's chiding voice that made Harmony roll her eyes, and lean her head backwards so that she was looking at her mother—upside down.

"To be honest, if you lecture me I'm just going to tune you out, like I always do, so it'll be a waste of your time and mine." Ariel sighed as she heard her daughter's voice point out the obvious. Still, she didn't like that tone coming from Harmony. It was as though the girl thought her mother was nothing but a figurehead—someone just there, but with no actual power. Ariel was about to respond, when someone else broke in.

"Wait, since when are you like, engaged?" A voice piped up in bewilderment, a voice unusually close to Emma. The blonde haired eighteen year old sighed in annoyance, as she turned around to the child.

"Please, don't talk. Just the sound of your voice makes me want to go _kill _myself." Emma's voice said, thick with annoyance as she scowled at her younger sister, who scowled right back at her. Harmony rolled her eyes at the sister's, before taking Emma's math homework and starting to copy the problems, as the girl knew her friend was busy with a pest problem.

"Then why'd you drag me here if you didn't want to hear me talk?!" The former Susie, who now preferred Suze because 'Susie sounds like a three year olds name' said back to her sister, scowling just as heavily. Four years apart, the girls couldn't stand each other. Emma was eighteen, Suze was fourteen. There was absolutely nothing they could agree on. _Nothing_.

"'Cuz I'm not stupid enough to leave a fourteen year old home alone." Emma said, in a voice that clearly stated 'I'm older than you, so that means you have to shut up and respect my dictatorship.' Arista playfully nudged Aquata in the ribs as the seven sisters watched the scene of nostalgia play before them. It wasn't all that strange to them anymore that Emma was here as a mermaid---or that she usually had to bring along her little brother and sister. It was almost every weekend they came over; by now the family had just accepted it as part of life.

"_You _stayed home alone when you were fourteen. And you had parties, and you'd get drunk, and then somehow by the time Mom and Dad came back everything would look totally normal." Harmony looked down at her fins at that, pursing her lips as she knew all too well how everything became normal after one of Emma's legendary parties.

"Case and point. You'd spread the word that there was a party, and then when everyone got drunk and totally wreck the house, who do you think Mom is going to blame because apparently, I'm supposed to be 'watching' you. Now shut up and do your homework." Emma said with an eye roll to her younger sister, who steamed like a teapot on the stove. But having nothing good to use on her sister at the moment, the Suze just grumbled under her breath as she turned back to being tutored by Shawn, Andrina's fourteen year old son. Amazingly, they were the best of friends, leading to many jokes to Andrina about 'how her son was going to fall in love with a human girl'.

"Can I annoy her? Ple-ease!" Tommy begged, his sightless eyes turning to his oldest sister in a twisted form of merriment. Oh, Emma had trained him well. Now not only did she have a little six year old brother, she could also use him to torture her little sister. Though Harmony had tried to cure his blindness…she couldn't. Leading everyone to realize that…Tommy's blindness was caused _intentionally_.

"Yeah sure. As long as you guys don't kill each other, I really don't care." Emma said with a shrug, as her brother's face lit up like the Fourth of July. For a moment, he stood completely still, listening for his other sister's voice, until he found in the room, and swam completely at ease towards her. Though he might be blind, the kid had some _good _hearing.

"Well, no more tweedle-idiot to annoy me." Emma said cheerfully, before linking arms with Harmony with a scrunched up nose. "Sisters are such a _pain_." Emma groaned, and Harmony nodded, knowing full well just how annoying sisters could be. Case and point Melody.

"I completely agree." Attina said, despite the gasps of her sisters and the playful pushes she received from them. Still, no matter what Ariel said about Emma, Attina had to be sympathetic to her. From what she gathered, Emma's mother wasn't around a lot, so she was usually taking care of her younger siblings. And it couldn't be easy when you had a blind six year old brother, and a fourteen year old sister.

"Hey, you wanna hit the 'plex later? That new movie about Zombie's just came out…" Emma trailed off, her brown eyes wondering to her friend about seeing a movie.

"I can't. Got dentention."


	50. Mom Has A Way of Twisting My Ear

"OW! FUCK THAT HURTS!" Harmony yelped in pain, the Atlantican older kids—and adults—gasped at her language. Amazingly, Tommy only blinked once at the language, before shrugging it off. He had two teenage sisters who hated each other…by now, in his six years, he'd heard every swear word known to man.

"You _slept_ with him?!" Ariel was steaming with rage, as she pulled on Harmony's ear even harder, making the girl yelp in pain even harder. Emma looked from Harmony, to Ariel, to her sister, and to her brother, before the three siblings started laughing, clutching at their stomachs at how much it hurt to laugh that hard. Ariel paid them no mind.

"Just a few times Mo—OW!" Harmony yelped harder in pain as her ear was twisted even further, making tears actually fill the girl's vision at how much pain had intensified. Emma, Suze, and Tommy were still laughing.

"After what happened to Melody, I would think you'd be smarter than that! And," Here Ariel twisted Harmony's ear even harder, "What are you going to tell your fiancée young lady?! That you randomly slept with some boy because you had nothing better to do?!" Ariel's voice was that kind of I'm-going-to-kill-you voice that all mother's seemed to have.

"Wait, you think I had sex with MATT?! Mom, that's disgusting, I've known him since preschool!" Harmony said, moving away from the jaws of death—aka, her mother's fingers.

"You said you slept with him!" Ariel's voice furiously said, locking her jaw as she almost lunged towards her daughter. Thankfully though, Attina put a restraining hand on Ariel to not let her do anything rash.

"When I was six!" Harmony yelled, making everyone in the room—besides the three siblings, freeze and blink in shock. "I've known Matt since I was like, two. I used to sleepover his house when I was a kid, we'd eat a lot of candy, and then we'd crash on top of each other, _and fall asleep_. Nothing besides that ever happened between us, my god!" Harmony's voice said, as the girl threw her hands up in the air at pure amazement that her mother had twisted her words into a perverted sentence.

"Oh." Was all Ariel could say, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Of course Harmony wasn't so stupid as to do something like that…Ariel should have trusted the girl better.

"No…please…and her face…" Emma gasped out from laughing so hard, before turning towards Harmony with shaking shoulders still. "Oh that's a good one, Ice Queen. Matt and Kat? Please, she'd kill herself before that ever happened!" Emma laughed, her laugh combined with the younger sister's and brothers. They all knew that there was absolutely no sexual attraction between Harmony and Matt…it would be too awkward if there was!

"At least, you're still a virgin." Ariel said, her shoulders slumping as the children all went back to their conversations. Emma stopped laughing now, her eyes flickering between Harmony and Ariel…before realization dawned on her.

"You haven't _told_ her? Dude!" Emma's shocked voice said, now scared for Harmony as she had no clue what Ariel would do to the girl now.

"Tell Ariel what?" Attina inquired, her brows furrowing as she had no idea what Emma could mean. Athena was silent, because she knew without anyone telling her what Harmony had done.

"Um…I don't really think you'd want to know." Harmony said, her eyes shifting to the kids in the room, who by now all had the sex talk (besides little Ali who was amazingly sleeping through all of this) and knew exactly from their older family members all about sex.

"Hey guys, wanna check out the Catfish Club—during the day?" Emma's voice piped up, as all the kids heads came up nodding furiously. "Alright, first one out of this castle gets to go with me and Harmony!" Immediately, all the children—including little Ali who'd awoken from her nap and was following everyone—started shouting and yelling as they swam as fast as they could out of the room, and out of the castle at the rare chance to see the Catfish Club during the day. Emma and Harmony were swimming behind the kids, trying to get lost within the crowd of them.

"Oh no you don't!" Ariel said, pulling back Harmony, who in turn pulled back Emma, as she was pushed down to the couch and had to stare warily up at all her Aunts and Grandmother. "What is it that you're not telling me Harmony?" Ariel's steely voice commanded. Harmony was, for once, silent as ever, just staring up at her mother with an 'I'm not going to talk and you can't make me' expression.

"Harmony, sweetie, don't be afraid to tell us what's wrong." Arista's gentle voice broke through to her niece, who still looked up with the same expression. What was it that the girl was hiding?

"Nothing's wrong. Actually, it was pretty right." Harmony said, a superior smirk lighting up her face at her own words. Emma stifled a laugh at Harmony's words, but said nothing as her face was just a smirk. How come every time Kathy was in trouble, somehow she managed to be dragged into it, the girl wondered?

"What do you mean?" Aquata's voice wondered, blinking in surprise at Harmony's words. It almost sounded as though the girl had…but, that's impossible…Harmony wouldn't have…

"What are you talking about Harmony?" Attina asked, her browse knit with confusion and worry towards her oldest niece. The girl had a hard life…but now the woman was wondering if she'd done something to force an extra hardness upon her life.

"I mean that it was pretty right. Fun actually." Harmony said, her voice not quivering, or shaking, but that's what the inside of her was doing. She'd seen this scene play out way too many times before…she was afraid of the outcome, let's just say.

"What was fun dear?" Adella wondered, her brows furrowing in confusion. Emma laughed outright at her words, but a look from Harmony was enough to tell her to 'keep it locked up tight'.

"Harmony, what did you do?" Alana wondered warily, sharing a look with Andrina in confusion at Harmony's strange words.

"Did you do something wrong?" Andrina asked, feeling as though she was asking a child this question, not a teenager. Especially, a teenager who was engaged to be married pretty soon.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Emma muttered under her breath, completely outraged at the fact they hadn't figured it out yet. Her mother had figured it out in about two minutes, but apparently these mermaids had something wrong with their brains and couldn't figure anything out!

"Em's right. This is getting pretty annoying." Harmony noted her face completely thoughtful though her mother was steaming like an angry tea pot next to Attina. Athena knew exactly what was happening though, and shot her niece a look to please, just not do this right now. "Mom, I'm not a virgin. There, now you know." Harmony's silky sweet voice said, making Ariel burst as though she was a balloon.


	51. A Sex Talk Gone Wrong

"WHAT?!" Ariel's voice shrieked, as Harmony's Aunts stood there…stunned. The girl crossed her arms over her shells and looked back at Ariel with a completely normal expression.

"I'm sexually active." The girl explained in a slower voice, as though her mother was a toddler. "If you haven't realized yet, I lost my virginity a lo-ong time ago." Harmony said with a snort, looking up at her mother as though this was just a normal conversation between parent and teenager.

"Harmony—how—that's—what—huh?!" Harmony's Aunts all spluttered at the same time, trying to make sense of the situation. How could the girl be 'sexually active' when she was _engaged_?!

"It's not that big of a deal. It's not like I've been going to an opium den or anything…it's just I'm not a virgin anymore." Harmony said with a shrug, and though her Aunts had no idea what an opium den was, they guessed correctly from Harmony's tone.

"I knew letting you go to Nebraska was a bad idea, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! I knew you'd do something so reckless and stupid, I just knew it! But did anyone listen to me, oh no, I'm just overprotective, well, you haven't seen overprotective until now young lady! From now on your going to be so grounded that you're not leaving your room for anything! Forget going to school, and you can definitely forget going to University, and every other privilege you have I swear when we get back home you won't have!" Ariel said through half yells and grinded teeth to try and not kill anyone. Harmony just looked up at her mother from the couch, before turning to Emma with a questioning look.

"Did you know that the backseat of Jared's car is like, the best place to get laid? I mean, I heard it in rumors, but _da-umn_, when you're in his backseat it's like…like…_da-umn_!" Harmony said, whistling her approval through her teeth. Ariel's eyes flashed like lightening and she would have lunged for her daughter's throat, had it not been for the fact she was tightly being held back by her sisters.

"I swear the moment we get home I'm going to kill you. How could you be out having sex?! Your seventeen years old for goodness sake! And Poseidon only knows if you're pregnant!" Ariel hiss yelled angrily at her daughter, her eyes flashing as her sisters' grip on her loosened considerably.

"Mom, don't have a spaz attack. I used protection. I'm on the pill. And he used a condom." Harmony said calmly, though her words only caused confusion in Ariel, her sisters, and Athena's mind. Still though, they were all too…shocked, disappointed…and a bit angry at Harmony to let her words have any effect on them.

"If you're pregnant, I swear Harmony I am going to disown you so fast that you won't have time to _think _about it." Ariel said, her jaw snapping and her eyes flashing in full rage. Harmony accessed the situation, as always, calmly.

"I'm not pregnant; I know that for a fact. And, furthermore, you weren't like this with Melody. For god's freaking sake, they found her _naked_ with Lance in a meadow! And then she came back and says she's pregnant, and all YOU say is 'I'm disappointed in you'! But when _I_ use protection, and I don't go around fucking someone I've known only for a month, and_ I_ _**don't**_ get pregnant at sixteen, suddenly I'm the horrible daughter!" Harmony yelled finally at the end, her frustration only mounting higher, and higher and higher.

"It was different for Melody." Was all Ariel had to say, though she knew her defense was thin, very thin. Harmony could poke through it easily, and that's exactly what she did.

"How?! How is it different for her than it is for me?! I'm not pregnant! I'm not letting someone find me naked in a meadow! How is it different for her than it is me?!" Harmony challenged, feeling as though her mother was being completely unfair. So what if she'd 'lost' her virginity! Melody had done ten times _**worse**_ than that, and now suddenly she's living the high life?!

"It just was Harmony. Don't push me anymore young lady, you're lucky I haven't come after you yet!" Ariel yelled, her fist balling up in pure anger. It was different for Melody than it was Harmony. It just was. It _always_ was.

"I'd like to see you try and touch me, _Mother_." Harmony said with a barked out harsh laugh. "So what if I'm not a virgin anymore? You didn't do any of this when you found out about Melody!" Harmony argued the unfairness of all this with her mother, as the woman finally had enough of the girl's questioning to her answer.

"Because Melody had an actual future ahead of her!" Ariel shrieked out at Harmony. The girl immediately fell silent, looking down at her tail as tears started to overwhelm her vision. Oh. Ouch. The room fell silent, and though Athena draped comforting arms around Harmony, the girl felt too numb to realize that they were there. Looking up, for just a second, Harmony let a sob come loose from her mouth as she stared at her shocked mother.

"Screw. You. Bitch." Was all the girl said, before swimming the hell out of the room, with Emma right on her fins. Ariel blinked in shock once, twice, three times, before a heavy sigh came loose from her lips and she slowly sank down to the couch, shaking her head.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Ariel asked softly, burying her face into her hands and crying softly, her shoulders slumping as she realized what she'd done this time. She'd basically told her daughter she had no future. Why was she such a bitch, the woman wondered. Why couldn't she control her temper, and stop hurting the baby she'd wanted to love for almost twelve years? Why was she so terrible a mother, Ariel wondered, letting her soft sobs of pain fill the room.

* * *

**In a way, you want to be mad at Ariel at the end of this chapter, but at the same time you can't be! I know, it's so frustrating! **

**Also, there is foreshadowing in this chapter. Not going to say where, or what word, but there just is. Try and guess it if you can! **

**REVIEW!**

**PS. Yes, I know it's kind of shocking that Harmony is sexually active, but at the same time not shocking. Trust me, i'm like, completely confuzzled by all of this as much as you are!**


	52. Lost and Found

Snow crunched under Harmony's soaking converse, as the girl shivered and wrapped her arms around her harder. Her lips must be blue by now, the girl realized with a sigh, before continuing to walk on. The cold night weather snapped at her face, arms, neck—basically anything that wasn't covered. Her eyes filled with tears at how much the cold wind hurt them, and the girl shivered even harder as she tried to make her way towards some type of clearing through the thick woods.

She hadn't gone back to the palace after what Ariel had said. Instead, she opting for trying to kill herself by freezing her butt off outside, in the woods—that were far away from the palace, thankfully. She could just use her powers to grab her jacket…but the girl didn't feel the need to use her powers. Either someone would find her out here, or she'd die from the cold. The girl hoped the later came true first.

By now, there was a search being conducted for her, the girl knew. But, this forest was at least a two hours by foot from the palace or at least, that's what she guesstimated; no one would think to look for her here. Her clothes were soaking wet, which added to her freezing and made the girl shiver harder. She'd gone back to Atlantica after awhile at Ryan's grave, because, hey, she had a club to run…only to find that there was a guard posted outside the club, making sure she was caught if she went in.

Shivering harder as a blast of cold wind seemed to reach her bones, Harmony finally saw it up ahead, through a stuffy nose that was red and a face that hurt like hell from the cold wind. Nights in Shireland's winter were almost as bad as Nebraska…but they held twice the pain for the girl in memories that was for sure.

Harmony laid down exhaustedly in the small clearing in the forest. Her eyes were starting to swell from the cold and her tears, and she knew that it wouldn't be long before hypothermia took hold of her. Tucking her head into her curled body for warmth, the girl let her bare arms that were covered in fresh cuts hold herself all together, as though she'd break without them. She was only wearing a tee shirt and jeans, though the weather must have been in the negatives—a _wet_ pair of tee shirt and jeans, to be exact. Her converse seemed colder on the inside than they did on the outside, mostly due to the wetness of her sock and shoe. Still, the girl curled up tighter in her little ball in the clearing, as she softly started to cry to herself, before falling asleep.

"I can't believe I did it again. I just can't believe it." Ariel kept repeating the same phrase over and over again, shaking her red head in disbelief at what she'd done now. She _should_ be downstairs with Eric right now, hoping for information about her daughter's whereabouts…but Carlotta had insisted that the Queen at least take a bubble bath to soothe her nerves. 'Insisted', in this case meaning practically dragged the redhead up the stairs, and pushed her into the giant bathroom in the tower.

"Your majesty she's going to turn up soon enough; she always does." Carlotta said comfortingly, pouring some water over Ariel's head. The Queen sighed heavily, slumping in the bathtub with a deflated expression.

"No she won't." Ariel said with another heavy sigh. "I went too far this time…like _every_ time. I try to do my best by her…and I always go overboard. If she doesn't turn up soon enough…" Ariel said with another heavy sigh, cradling her forehead in her hand as her head pounded. Between trying to be a Mother, a Queen, a Wife, and a friend to Harmony…she barely had time for anything _she_ wanted to do any more.

"Don't think so negatively dear." Carlotta tsked at her Queen, making Ariel blearily grin upwards at her, knowing that tone so well after so many years. How on earth she managed to go on without Carlotta in the palace made her head spin around. The housekeeper had left a few days before Harmony's sudden arrival back into everyone's lives to take care of her sick son; but when she'd come back, a few days before Harmony's fifteenth birthday…well, the castle was literally twisted on its ear, in a good way of course. "Everyone makes mistakes, my Queen; it's just that yours with your daughter comes more frequently. Besides, losing your temper with the girl doesn't help." Carlotta said, busily pouring shampoo over Ariel's head, and letting the liquid seep into the woman's hair.

"But she admitted to literally have gone out and having sex! How am I supposed to keep calm at that?" Ariel argued, feeling more and more like she was when she was seventeen. So unsure…so unknowing of the path ahead of her. Is that how Harmony felt? Not understanding, not knowing, and sometimes, not _wanting_ to know?

"Oh that." Carlotta said dismissively to her Queen, being informal with the woman after so many years of knowing her. Besides, Ariel knew that Carlotta wasn't the type to stand around and gossip about things. "The girl knows better than to get you all riled up; she just does it for sport." Carlotta said with a frown as she thought of Harmony's attitude. The girl almost _enjoyed _getting her parent's furious it seemed.

"What do you mean?" Ariel asked, closing her eyes as her head pounded even harder against her skull. Perhaps she should have the doctor take a look at her; honestly, this headache didn't seem all too well for her health.

"The girl is still a virgin, your majesty. On her wedding night check her sheets; I'm sure you'll find all the evidence you need to confirm that fact." Carlotta's voice was simply put, not in a tone as though she was talking to someone stupid, or as though she was talking to someone who was her superior. She was just talking to her friend.

"I hope your right." Ariel said with another sigh, wincing as her head pounded even harder against her skull. "Still, I just want her to come back, safe and sound…but that's only wistful thinking." Ariel said with another heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping even further down as she slumped further in the tub.

"It's nearly midnight love. Why don't you go to bed; I'll stay down here and wait for news about Harmony." Eric's soft voice broke into Ariel's morbid thoughts, as the woman shook her head and tucked back her damp red hair behind her ears.

"I won't be able to sleep unless I know that she's safe. She's here, I know it. Just where is the problem." Ariel said hopelessness and frustration mixing into her tone as she fought off the drowsiness of the medicine the doctor had given her for her head. The doctor had said it was just from the stress and that Ariel should go to bed. Thankfully, Eric hadn't been around for if he'd heard those were the doctor's orders, he would have locked Ariel in their room a long time ago.

"Tell me again what happened that made her runaway Ariel. Did she say anything about where she'd be going?" Eric asked, feeling his own frustration start to mount at his missing daughter and his…just hopeless wife.

"We had a fight about…her…er…_life choices_…I basically said she had no future…and then she just disappeared—crying already, mind you." Ariel's voice said, keeping out what exactly the fight was about. If she told Eric…well, let's just say besides the fact Harmony's room would be in ruins right now, the moment the girl showed back up at the palace she'd be turned away and told she'd been disowned. And that would be if Harmony was _lucky_.

"What do you mean 'life choices'?" Eric wondered, narrowing his blue eyes at his wife who shrugged nonchalantly and yawned, before shaking off the feeling of drowsiness in her. She couldn't sleep, not until she knew Harmony would be okay, not until Harmony was alright…

"Your majesties! We found her!" Both parents heads snapped up at the words, as they saw two guards walk in. One of them was holding Harmony, who was blissfully asleep and looked as though she had no intention of waking up any time soon. Before she could stop it, a relieved breath came from Ariel, who practically ran over to her husband as he took Harmony out of the guard's arms.

"My baby…" Ariel whispered, tucking a curl beneath her daughter's ear as she kissed the girl lightly on her forehead. "Where was she?" Ariel switched from mother mode to Queen in about 2.5 seconds, her head snapping up and her blue eyes practically saying 'if you don't tell me, I'll make you so miserable death will be a relief'.

"In the Oak Wood forest, your majesty. I think she just got tired and fell asleep in the snow." Gregory said his voice rough and weary after a night of calling out for the princess, and not getting any response. Still, whatever had made the girl start running must have been bad because there had been rumors about that forest…

"Thank you." Eric breathed in relief, hugging Harmony close to him in the process. Just knowing that his daughter was safe was good enough for him. Though her body was freezing, thankfully it seemed as though she hadn't harmed herself in any way.


	53. Forgive and Possibly Forget

"AH!" Harmony gasped screamed as she shot all the way up in her bed, her face paling and her eyes filling with pain. Almost immediately she heard a soothing voice murmuring gently to her, as she was pushed back into her bed.

"Hush my darling, it's alright. Your safe now, nothing can hurt you." Ariel's soft voice broke through, as she dabbed a cool cloth against Harmony's warm forehead. Amazingly, it seemed the girl was coming away from a night out in the cold unscathed—but Ariel wasn't taking any chances.

"M-Mom?" Harmony stuttered, trying to get everything straightened out in her mind. "B-But last night…the woods…my arms…" Harmony's mind was a whirlwind of activity. Didn't the night before happen? Didn't she fall asleep in a snow bank?

"I'm sorry. I did it again. I hurt you. I keep promising that I won't, and I always do and I know it's unfair to you, but damn it Harmony did you have to spring that on me all at once?! No, sorry, again, it's not your fault, it's mine." Ariel's words came out in a rush, as she grimaced at the end of them, realizing that she was trying to blame her daughter again. Though it was partly Harmony's fault, Ariel actually wanted a daughter, not just another run-away-teenager and she wouldn't get it if she told Harmony it was her fault.

"Can you pass me my box of band aids?" It was a simple, soft request from Harmony, which startled Ariel. She was expecting her daughter to be difficult, to have an attitude, to hate her, to say the truth…and instead, all the girl wanted was the small box on her nightstand that had the bright words 'band aids' printed on them. Warily looking at her daughter and expecting an outburst at any moment, Ariel slowly reached over and handed her daughter the box.

The next few sounds for about a minute was Harmony taking out a few band aids from the box, ripping them open, pushing up her nightgown sleeves, and placing the band aids all along her new cuts, courtesy of the night before. Ariel had seen them when she had Harmony change into a nightgown. Still, just seeing them before didn't stop her from wincing as she saw them again.

"Here, let me help." Ariel's soft voice said, as she saw Harmony struggle to put the band aids on her left arm because she was left handed. Harmony said nothing but extended her arm all the same to her mother, and let Ariel place the band aids carefully along the cuts, wincing in pain and how horrible it was. Her own scars were just as bad, and yet, seeing them on her daughter made it all the more terrible.

"Why does my life suck so much? I mean, of all the kids in the world—both worlds—why _me_?" Harmony asked softly, as Ariel did a double take, startled by the words as she looked up at Harmony with a shocked expression at her strange words.

"I don't know." Ariel answered truthfully. She had no idea why fate had chosen to take her daughter from her for eleven straight years of hell. She didn't know why she was such a terrible mother. She had no clue. Harmony blearily looked up at her mother, pain that the woman couldn't even fathom in the girl's eyes.

"Why did you say I had no future?" It was a soft question, not really much power into it. But it struck Ariel and made the mother take in a quick breath at just the words.

"Harmony, you know I don't mean anything by those words. It's just that…well…I was so _mad_…and…like always, things slipped out. And even though I'm truly sorry, I know it doesn't make a difference." Ariel said, grimacing at just the thought of it. Of course it made no difference to her daughter whether she was sorry or not. The problem was still there if she was sorry or not. She'd said something horrible (again) to Harmony and now the girl and her mother were trying to deal with it and trying to have an actual relationship with each other.

"I shouldn't have been such a bitch about it either, and I shouldn't have runaway. Or tried to kill myself by freezing in the snow. Or cutting myself. Or—" Harmony's voice was suddenly cut off by Ariel, who jumped in before Harmony could utter antoher sound.

"Sweetheart, let's just leave it at that, alright? I don't think I need to know every detail about what happened last night." Ariel said with a slight grimace at just the thought of it. It was bad enough knowing that Harmony had runaway…and that she'd been cutting herself. Anymore facts than that were probably just a bit too much for Ariel to handle.

"Alright. I guess." Harmony acknowledged. She wasn't too sure if she forgave her mother or not. She wasn't so sure if…anything was alright, to be completely honest. But, the girl had to try. She'd wanted a family her entire childhood; she wasn't just about to give up on that dream and leave it at this. At least this family apologized for what they did. And for Harmony, that was good enough. It wasn't amazing, or terrible, it was just good enough.

"Good. Now, I wanted to talk to you about your…er…the choices you made when you…you…well, you know." Ariel said, stuttering over the word as her cheeks tinged red with embarrassment. Wasn't the sex talk with Melody bad enough? Honestly, first she has to give her eight year old daughter the sex talk, then she has to give it again when the girl has just turned sixteen, and now she had to give it to Harmony?! Oh this was just unfair. "I'm not happy with what you did…but, you were right. I wasn't like that with Melody, so I don't want to be with you. Look, I know what's in the past can't be redone, but please, just promise me you'll be good now that your engaged. And also, don't mention that we've had this talk with your father. First he'd come after you, and then my throat would be right after." Ariel said, wincing at just the thought. It was bad enough all her sister's knew…goodness; she was going to get it now. She loved her sisters, but she knew them all too well. They couldn't keep something a secret. The next time Harmony was in Atlantica, they'd all be whispering and staring at her.

Plus, by now their husband's must know, so that means that any chance at normalcy with her family is going downhill. Hopefully Triton was still oblivious towards that teensy little fact though. And the children too. Ava Maria, if everyone knew the next time Harmony went to the palace she'd be bombarded with a million questions, none of which would make the girl comfortable and have her lock up and not speak a word for a week—which she had done before.

"Sure. Sounds fair enough." Harmony said with a shrug, as her mother smiled a bit painfully and relieved at her. Hopefully, Eric would be kept in the dark about all this. No, hopefully everyone would be kept in the dark about this. Actually, knowing Harmony, the girl would probably find some way to erase everyone's memories of what she'd said—everyone except Ariel's. For some inexplicable reason, Harmony could not control her mother's mind. It was a very annoying thing, to say the least.

"Good. Now, get to sleep." Seeing the look on Harmony's face, Ariel put on a stern one of her own. "No arguing this with me Harmony. If you want to go to school tomorrow, you've got to rest." Ariel said, before settling her daughter back into the pillow and tucking the blankets around her—tightly. Harmony wouldn't be going anywhere for the time being.

"You suck." Harmony's voice, thick with exhaustion came out, as she settled her body on the mattress, making sure she was comfortable.

"Yes. Of course I do." Ariel said with a grin, before kissing the top of Harmony's red head. "Goodnight to you too sweetheart."


	54. Just a Small Town Girl Named Kathy

Harmony blinked once as she stared at the poster, utter amazement written on her features. It wasn't like she hadn't known this day wasn't coming. Hell, she'd be waiting for it for years. And now that it was finally here…well…she was just shocked that it came so quickly. It was two words that escaped from her lips as she stared at the poster. Spring Break.

"Kathy, hell-o-o? Kat? Anyone home?" Em's voice rang in Harmony's ears the girl jerked out of her reverie and looked up at her friend with astonished eyes and a heart that was beating so fast it seemed it would leap out of her chest.

"Spring Break is this _week_?! Why didn't anyone tell me?! I mean—now—wedding—homework—gah!" Harmony was out of breath in her astonishment, her blue eyes wondrous as to how Spring Break could be in just a few short days. But that was impossible! Her wedding (and honey moon…) were supposed to be during Spring Break so it didn't clash with her school schedule. But…how could that be four days? Wasn't it just yesterday that she was being tucked into her warm bed by her mother after she'd runaway?! How could it suddenly be Spring Break?!

"Kat, chill." Emma said with a snort, before sitting down at her seat in the lunch table. "Just focus on the present, not the future. And the present is what the hell the hot lunch is today." Emma grimaced as she looked at the food, wondering what it was supposed to be.

"I think its sweet potato…" Lizzie said, poking at her hot lunch unsurely with a grossed out expression. Matt next to her took in a deep, unsure breath, before shoveling some of the lunch into his mouth.

"It's not sweet potato…hey, it's crunchy!" Matt said, like any boy being the first one to eat the food. Lizzie next to him expression her thoughts with a simple 'ew!' before moving away from him with a grimaced expression.

"How can something so…mashed potato-ey be crunchy?!" Kat's unsure voice said, warily looking at her lunch, before also shoveling it in to her mouth. Chewing on it unsurely, she swallowed after a moment….and then downed all of her water. For some reason, the school didn't allow a soda machine, so the kids were forced to drink juice…or, aka, water.

"I don't know…but _you're_ going to find out." Matt's grin was of pure evil, as he chewed and swallowed the…um…lunch. "If you eat all of it, I'll give you ten bucks." Matt's mind was amazingly evil at times, the boy knew. Kathy grimaced as she looked at her food, before looking back up at her friend with a firm expression.

"Twenty bucks and you've got a deal." The girl said, for once, all her problems disappearing from her mind. Everything bad that happened to her…well when she was around her friends, it all went away. She was just a normal girl to them, Kathy Johnson, the girl they'd grown up with since preschool.

"Fine, twenty. But you can't drink any water." Matt warned his friend, whose face paled slightly at the thought of it. If he was going to pay twenty bucks, he might as well make it worth it.

"You two are so gross." Lizzie complained, poking unsurely still at her lunch food before sighing and pushing the plate away from her. Honestly, the school cafeteria food should come with a label naming what it was supposed to be…though, if it did, no one would probably _eat_ anything.

"Isn't that like, a form of prostitution? Doing something and then getting money as a result?" Emma wondered, stabbing at the food on her plate with her fork. Where was that chef Harmony had when you needed him?

"Well, I guess it runs in the family then, seeing as how Kat's mom was a thirteen year old European prostitute." Matt teased; his green eyes alight with mischief as Kathy groaned well naturedly while Emma and Lizzie laughed. The subject of Kathy's true parent's had always been a fun think to try and figure out many a lunch. So far, her friends had come up with a) her real parents were aliens b) her real mother was a mermaid Queen of some weird kingdom, and her father was a King (Harmony found that one the most entertaining of them all) c) her mother was a thirteen year old European prostitute who accidently got pregnant and dropped Harmony off in an American home, or finally d) her mother was just an all around stuck up New York upper east side bitch, and her father was heroin junkie (Emma liked that one the best).

"Haha, so funny Matt. _**Not.**_" Kathy's voice rang out, as she playfully punched her best guy friend's arm, and he pretended as though she'd really hurt him. Lizzie rolled her eyes at Matt at hi immatureness, Emma was just laughing, Matt was moaning and groaning as though Kathy's punch hurt a lot, and in the mist of it all, Kathy was laughing and smiling.

The girl knew that when she got home she'd have a million different things to do that pertained to the wedding (Ariel was driving her nuts with all the wedding gifts and the color scheme of whites that looked the same to Harmony, but apparently were very different). The girl knew that when she got back to the palace, she'd be Harmony, the girl who'd been put through so much pain and was still trying to live out her life as a normal kid. The girl knew that when she got home she'd be a witch/princess/almost-bride/cutter/singer/song writer/smoker/strange clothing girl/horrible etiquette child/lovesick fool. The girl knew all that, and yet, for right now she didn't care. Because, right now, she wasn't Harmony. She wasn't any of those things. Right now she was just a small town girl with dreams too big for her town. Right now, she was just Kathy.

And that's why she smiled and laughed.

* * *

**WHEW! It only took me 33 minutes to write out this chapter, with no distractions! That's gotta be a record! Well, again, this is another nice chapter of Harmony/Kathy. I just want to give you guys good chapters because in the soon future...well...let's say some of those chapters will be intense. Anyway, as you can probably tell, time sped up in this chapter. In the last chapter it was about early Jan. and now it's about late April. For all those who are disapointed in the time speeding up so quickly, i'm sorry, but I have to get to the plot, otherwise things will just get too...bunched up, and I'll end up with a 94 chapter story when in reality I was only aiming for like a 60 chapter one *cough cough, Silent Duet*. Anyway, in the next chapter, a surprise vistor (or should I say visitors...:P) will be coming! So stick around, and remember to review! **


	55. Surprise, Surprise

"Mo-om! I'm ho-ome!" Harmony called out as she threw her book bag over her other shoulder in hopes of releasing some of her pain. There was no answer to her call; only the bustling about of servants—some going at incredibly fast speeds as though something important was happening.

"Mo-om?" Harmony called again, frowning in annoyance when she didn't hear Ariel's chastisement. That was the highlight of her day; just making Ariel annoyed to the point where the woman had gone beyond wanting to strangle her daughter, and really did want to kill her.

"Oh where oh where can Mo-om be, oh where oh where can she be…" Harmony sang softly to herself, as she started poking her head into different places to see if she could find her mother, or father, or even Coral. Usually, one of them always met her in the ballroom, where she always came to after practice had ended. Ouch. Practice. Just the word made Harmony wince as she subconsciously rubbed a bad bruise on her arm.

"I wonder where they all could be…" Harmony trailed off uncertainly, not liking the fact that she couldn't find her family anywhere. Only two things could happen now. Either she'd be surprised, or her family was no longer here. Neither one was a good option.

Determined to find and most definitely annoy her family, Harmony walked into the unknown abyss—aka, one of the palace's larger sitting rooms that the girl had broken the news to her family that she was a witch long ago. A shudder came onto the girl's sore shoulders, as a cold feeling of dread overcame her at just the thought of that day. Stop that, her mind scolded. That was three years ago; things are different now. Somewhat.

Taking in a deep, calming breath, and making sure her anti depressant was working, the girl turned the knob on the door…

"Harmony!" An excited voice called out, as the owner of the voice started to run towards the girl…but stopped nearly an inch away from her, her 'delicate' nose scrunched up. "I would hug you…but you're all dirty." Melody explained sheepishly, in her mind this all making sense. Harmony rolled her eyes at her twin, not letting any amount of surprise overtake her as to give Melody the satisfaction.

"And your all girly-girl. Glad we're acquainted. Where's the PMS-ing Parental Unit Mel?" Harmony asked, sarcasm thick in her voice at the beginning, before actual questioning to her sister came through. Melody snorted a laugh at Harmony's name about their mother—or was it, about something else?

"Um…you know she's on the couch, right?" Melody asked, stifling her giggles as she thought of how much trouble Harmony would be in now. Though already a mother at seventeen, that was the thing, she still _was_ seventeen. In all rights, Melody was a girl, just like their mother had been when she'd gotten pregnant.

"Oh, really?" Harmony asked, looking at Melody, and only Melody as she could almost feel the coldness in the gaze her mother was directing at her. "Then let me rephrase that." Harmony said, her blue eyes looking into the identical ones of her twin so she didn't have to look at Ariel. "THE PMS-ING PARENTAL UNIT." Harmony's voice was louder this time, clearly just to annoy Ariel who sent a glare so frightful that even baby Brendon knew to not let a peep out.

"Pms-ing Parental Unit? Huh. I thought you just stuck with bitch." A voice Harmony knew all too well that made her heart skip a beat said, as the owner of the voice literally pushed Melody aside so that he was next to Harmony. Melody pouted in response, before bumping the boy away from her sister with her hip. The boy, in turn, pushed Melody away and kept her away with his arm extended outwards. Furious, Melody tried to move him, but the boy was just a smug statue, standing there as though Melody wasn't pushing against his arm.

"I like to keep it fresh." Harmony answered, her heart pumping and face flushing as she looked at John. What the…how did…Melody and John? Wherever Melody was, Lance and Brendon must be nearby…and with them nearby…

"Like…this?" John leaned in for a kiss, one he'd been aching for since the day Harmony left to go back home, and Harmony didn't let him down. While still keeping Melody at bay, John almost felt his eyes pop out in shock as a tongue slipped into his mouth. In his shock, his hold on keeping Melody away from him and Harmony fell apart, and Melody used the opportunity to literally push him away from Harmony, breaking off the kiss he had with her. Her smug look was impossible to miss.

"Mel, there is a cliff not too far from here. I want you to go to it, jump off, and break every bone in your stupid body or else Iswear _I_ will." Harmony said, her frustration showing through as her eyes flashed at her sister for breaking off her kiss. She hadn't seen John for months, and now when she does all the girl can do is fight with him?!

"Harmony, Melody that's enough." Ariel's sharp voice was the voice of an annoyed mother pulling apart two siblings that were in the mist of a war with each other. With a sulking expression, Melody gave a sigh before going to sit down back next to Lance, and taking baby Brendon from him—in case Harmony got any revenge ideas.

"Harmony dear!" Margaret's enthusiastic voice chirped, breaking the tense silence in the room. Standing up, she was about to hug the girl…when she saw how she looked. "Well you're looking…rather…filthy." Margaret tried to be delicate about how Harmony looked at the moment, but it was hard to do considering the teenager in front of her was covered in dried mud, dirt, and had grass in her red hair.

"Let me guess; you tripped." Lansing Michigan's teasing voice rang out to his sister in law, who shot him a non-amused look, though her cheeks heated up considerably at how she looked.

"You just added another year of me calling you _Lansing Michigan_. Congrats." Harmony said sarcasm thick in her voice as Lance groaned. Brendon gurgled in Melody's arms, his tiny arms outstretching towards Harmony who grinned at the baby, but made no move to go over to him. Children loved her, but that didn't mean she was some future teenage-mother—or aka, Melody.

"Soccer must really be tough if you come out looking like that." Leroy noted, grinning from ear to ear at how Harmony looked. The girl shrugged her shoulders, before wincing at the pain in them and tossing her book bag over her other shoulder to hopefully reduce the pain.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get washed up for dinner Harm?" That was Eric's polite way of saying 'get your ass upstairs and get clean before I make you'. Still, it granted Harmony an escape route from her family…and from blushing so much. Honestly, she was like every other girl. She blushed furiously when she saw her crush (or in this case her fiancée) see her so dirty.

"Yeah…I think I will. See ya." In one simple move, a quick flick of her wrist, Harmony was away from the unknown abyss and back in her room. Flopping down on her bed wearily, she stayed there for a few moments as her heart pounded at seeing John and kissing him, before she got up and went straight to her bathroom.

* * *

**Rubba dub dub big time, huh Harmony?  
**

**REVIEW!**


	56. Text, Dine, and Wonder About Life

"Dress or jeans? Now _**that**_ is the question." Harmony's voice said, as she wrapped her red hair in a towel and placed it on top of her head. Her bathrobe felt snug and warm against her wet skin, as Harmony sighed in a attempt to figure out which one to wear.

"Jeans, definitely." A voice said, and in the distance a muffled yell and BOOM could be heard. Harmony sighed as she heard Emma's voice coming from her phone, thinking this all through at the moment.

"But then Ariel will get pissed." Strangely, when referring to her Mother, Harmony always called the woman 'Ariel' and her father 'Eric' instead of Mom and Dad. She said Mom and Dad to their face, yes of course so she didn't hurt their feelings…but, in reality, no matter how much she tried…they weren't her parents. Sure they'd created her…but they hadn't raised her. No matter how awful it was to think of, Janice and Austin would always be Harmony's true parents.

"Even more of a reason to wear them!" Emma's voice said, prodding Harmony to wear jeans. Whenever Ariel was pissed off, it could usually be held accountable for something Emma had done—or was going to do.

"You just say that because you hate her." It was a statement, pure fact that Emma could not stand Ariel, and in turn Ariel could not stand Emma.

"And your point is…?" Emma wondered, as Harmony laughed lightly, before pulling out one of her dresses. There really was no need to get her entire family all worked up tonight. Tonight she wanted to spend as much time as possible with John, and she wouldn't be able to do that if people kept acting awkward around her because she was wearing jeans.

"Dress it is then." Harmony laughed, before looking up at the large grandfather clock inside her dressing room. Almost time for dinner; about five minutes more until the food would be served. "Look, I gotta go. Can I text you during dinner with the fam?" Harmony questioned, hoping that Emma would be near her phone so that she could text her. Harmony's family…well, let's just say the girl would rather not talk to them all of dinner.

No one (besides John, and even then…) had anything in common with her. None of them had ever gone cow tipping. None of them had ever played soccer. None of them had ever set off a stink bomb so big in the school that a window got blasted out, and the school was shut down as a count of the awful smell for a week.

"Will it piss off Ariel?"

"Most likely."

"Then I'll be answering all your texts." Emma said with an evil smile to herself, at just the thought of pissing Ariel off. Harmony snorted in response to her friend's comment, but refrained from saying anything as she knew that Emma would only point out that Harmony herself took in a small pleasure in getting Ariel all riled up.

_Wats Mel doin?_ Harmony's phone vibrated just a little bit at the new text message. Slowly and deliberately the girl moved her phone under the table, but also on her lap as she didn't even need to look down to type in a message back to her friend.

_Tlkin bout baby. Urgh, so annoyin!_ Harmony fingers flew over the touch screen pad of her phone, though without looking she knew her message was being written correctly. The girl sat, next to John, as Leroy was occupying her normal seat next to her father. Then came John sitting next to his father, his posture a bit annoyed at hearing the same story over again. Thankfully though, Coral was next to Harmony then, and then there was Lance. On the other side of the table it was the following order, starting with Ariel, with Margaret sitting next to her, but Melody sitting next to Margaret, and Lance sitting next to his wife.

_Damn wat ever happened to da kid we used to know?_ Emma's text spoke a truth about Melody, once that had been slowly aching and tearing away at Coral, Emma, and Harmony for the past year. Once upon a time, Melody had been their fourth girl, the one who would spit on her hand, and place it in the middle with her friends. Once upon a time, Melody had cracked that's-what-she-said jokes, and didn't blink an eye when it came to covering up for her missing sister (Harmony had tutored the girl in the art of lying). Now…now Melody was just…different. Yes she had a child now…but did the girl ever look back to her friends and think, just once in the day, that maybe they were aching on the inside to see her so different from them?

_Idk my bff Jill. _Harmony sighed, thinking about Melody, before shaking it off and texting Emma again. _Neway how's that pizza? I'm supposed to b eating some type of weird steak…wishin I could hav some of ur double cheese pizza! _Harmony sighed again, but this time got elbowed in the ribs ever so slightly by John at that. Though he said no words, Harmony could just understand by his elbow in her ribs what he meant. Are you okay? Slowly, the girl gave a slight nod, though it went unnoticeable by everyone besides John.

_Haha_, _I'll save ya a slice, if u wanna come over l8er…_Emma's text trailed off, and Harmony's fingers were about to fly back onto the keyboard, when she felt a swift kick underneath the table...coming from Melody? What? Shaking it off as nothing, Harmony leaned her head down and started to send back her text to her friend.

_Thx! Lol, I'll b ther asap s—_Harmony looked up suddenly as she heard her voice being called out, by none other than her mother. Ariel didn't look pleased one bit; mostly because she knew Harmony had been texting and the girl hadn't even tried to make conversation.

"Give me your phone Harmony." Ariel's annoyed voice rang out, as Harmony looked up at her mother with a 'are you serious?' expression. Rolling her eyes, the girl slipped her phone into her pocket unnoticeably.

"Um…I don't know what you've been smoking lately Mom, but my phone's up in my room." Harmony said with a snort. Ariel's blue eyes stared down her daughter for a moment, knowing full well that the girl was lying. But, wanting to make the evening nice, and not embarrass the girl (or herself) Ariel left it alone.

"How's the club Harmony?" The question was directed at Harmony, of course it was, Coral's bitter mind stated. For a moment there, she'd actual thought they were talking to her…until she realized the 'Harmony' part of the sentence. Seriously, was it as though she was invisible? Could no one see her here at the end of the table? Not one person had uttered a word to her all dinner, making the girl feel more and more and more forgotten and unwanted in an unfamiliar world.

"Come down and see for yourself Friday night." Harmony answered simply, before turning her head back down onto her plate of uneaten food. She had no appetite for steak right now. All she really wanted was to go to Em's house, and eat greasy cheese pizza.

"I can't. What with Brendon and all…" Melody trailed of uncertainly, biting her lip. She was desperately hoping Harmony would say something like 'screw the baby, and just have fun'. Though at the time it'd seemed fun, being a teenager with a baby and a family definitely wasn't. While Harmony got to go clubbing on weekend nights, Melody was changing diapers. While Coral got to flirt with teenage boys, and make out with any cute guy who passed her way, Melody was married and therefore bound to kissing only one man. Family life wasn't all it was kicked up to be, that was for sure.

"Then at least come down to Atlantica with us to just hang out for awhile for Coral's sweet seventeenth. I mean, it's not like you do anything else in your day that's important." Coral silently thanked Harmony for directing everyone's attention ever so slightly to the girl at the end of the table who'd been forgotten all this time.

"I do things that are important." Melody protested, as her mind started naming off the things she did all day, before she came to a sulky conclusion. Zero. Oddly, she'd never noticed before Harmony pointed it out just how boring her life had become.

"Yeah, that's a joke." Harmony snorted, rolling her eyes as John choked back his laugh. The adults—including Lance—had long ago taken their attention off of 'the children' so they had no clue this conversation was going on.

"Good one Mel." Coral said, giggling though Melody was frowning severely, lost in her own thoughts.

"Well, I do _some_ things that are important. And besides, what do _you_ do all day that gives you the right to say I do nothing?" Melody argued, feeling a bit annoyed that Harmony was making fun of her…_again_.

"Mel, I go to school _every_ day, and then I go to detention, then I go to soccer, then…I do some things, and _then_ I come home." Harmony said clearly, mapping out her day for her sister who only frowned deeper as her thoughts became more and more…well, clear.

* * *

**I know, I know, I have to review all your stories! I will, don't worry! I'm just being a procrastinator, but after I post this up, I'll do it!**

**Also, teensy tiny announcement: **

**This chapter is dedicated to the girls who celebrated the end of the soccer season with me last night. I had no clue when I signed up for soccer that when the season ended, I would have so many new friends, memories, and never want to leave. Thanks for making my freshman year of soccer a great one girls!**

**Also, I want you all to ponder this. **

**Why would a COMPUTER teacher give us actual HOMEWORK?!**


	57. Trigomometry and Planning a Switcharoo

"The answer should be _3 cos + 4 sin_." John's voice said earnestly. Harmony gave a frustrated sigh as she threw her pencil down onto her homework, and pushed back her hair in frustration.

"This is _hopeless_. Just face it already; when it comes to math, I'm a total idiot." Harmony banged her head against her math book groaning in annoyance and frustration. Algebra was hard. Geometry was harder. Calculus was super difficult. Trigonometry was impossible.

"Don't think so low of yourself Harmony." John said gently, lifting up Harmony by her chin. "This isn't so hard once you get the hang of it." John said, though he too was starting to feel just a bit a frustrated. He'd offered to tutor Harmony in math when he'd heard how horrible she was in it, but now actually tutoring her…well, he could see why her father had willingly and easily let her go with John to the library so she could be tutored. Harmony was _horrible_ at math. How, John had no clue. Both her parents, being rulers, were good in math, and her sister was like a wizard when it came to math—but it seemed Harmony was the black sheep of the family when it came to that.

"Yes it _is_." Harmony groaned, massaging her temples as her forehead pounded angrily. "I'll just copy off of Emma's homework at lunch, don't worry." Harmony said, pushing her math book away. John looked from the math book to Harmony, before shrugging and settling back on the couch. He knew that once Harmony made a decision it was nearly impossible to change her mind. Especially if it was math.

"Let's just relax then." John said, stretching out his arms. Harmony gave a snort-laugh before stuffing her math book into her bag, and in its place pulling out her Physic's text book.

"Sorry, but I've still got to do my vocab for Physic's, I have to read the new history chapter, and I've got words I need to translate from English to Spanish, and from English to French." Harmony said, tired, but still upbeat which made John wonder how Harmony did it. She looked tired, like she'd wanted to just fall asleep, though it was only eight at night, and yet, she was still working hard on her homework.

"Why did your teachers give you so much homework?" John wondered, pushing back his unruly brunette hair. He would have cut it long ago, but he knew Harmony would have come after him if he had. She _loved_ his hair long.

"The school year is winding down, so that means my teachers want to pack in as much homework as they can, seeing as how seniors are exempt from all finals." Harmony said with a shrug, taking her pencil and starting to write out her first vocab word for Physics, and start to look through her book for definitions. One down, only twenty four more to go.

"John, Lance is looking for you. Something about you stealing one of his books…." Melody trailed off uncertainly as she leaned against the doorpost of the library—or should she say the _ne_w doorpost of the library. Yes, Ariel had finally done it. She'd replaced the doors to the library a month or two after Melody was married. And the new doors did look ravishing.

"What book exactly?" John wondered, pushing back his hair as he thought through his latest book steals from his brother. No, no, he'd returned that one…and that one…so what..?

"Something about a rose and blood…" Melody said with a shrug, her slender figure still leaning against the doorpost. That was one thing that always got Harmony. After she was pregnant, how did Melody lose all that weight, so quickly? And now she was back to her stick thin but somehow curvy figure?

"Oooh, that one." John said, with a conspirator wink to Harmony who just laughed. "Excuse me lady, and gentleman," That was directed towards Melody, who shot John a 'that's not funny look' and he grinned in return. "I have to go see if Lance won't kill me. I'll see you later Harmony." John laughed, before walking out of the library to find his brother.

"I've been thinking about what you said, you know, about my life being boring." Melody's soft voice broke the calm air between the sisters. Harmony looked up with a shrug at the words, as Melody purposely strode towards the couch Harmony was sitting on and sat next to her. "I wish I had your life. So…_different_. Exciting. Everything always being new—oh, that would be the best!" Melody wished, closing her eyes and flopping back on the couch. Harmony looked up at her sister with a eye roll and snort.

"You think my life is _**fun**_? Please, I put up with it because I have to. I'd rather have your boring life. Nothing different, everything the same, every day of every week I know what's going to happen…_that _would be a dream." Harmony said at her sister, before an idea lit up in Melody's mind.

"Let's switch places! I can be you, and you can be me for a day! Of course, one of us would have to dye our hair…and then Mom would surely find out…and we'd both get in some type of trouble—you mostly because you're not married yet…*sigh*. Never mind. It would never work." Melody sighed in hopelessness. She'd so hoped that it would work. Her and Harmony being twins and all…but then, Harmony was to be wed in a few days time. If she dyed her hair black, it wouldn't' wash out until _after_ the wedding. Oh and her mother would be so furious with both girls!

"Who said anything about hair dye? Mel, there's a spell we can do to switch places. You'd have your mind but in _my _body, and I'd have my mind but in _your_ body. Simple." Harmony said, her eyes a muted down form of excitement. With her anti-depressants, she wasn't able to get too excited, or too depressed, so she was lodged somewhere in between.

"A-A spell? I don't know Harm…" Melody trailed off uncertainly at that. She'd seen the letters from her mother about how Harmony's powers were still too strong to control fully—and the girl had witnessed first had how awful it could be when Harmony lost control of her powers.

"What are ya, chicken?" Harmony asked, with a subtle glean in her eyes at that. Melody sniffed as she held her head high.

"Melody Aurora Ben—er, _Mannelin_ Princess of Shire—er, _Westland _is _**not**_ chicken. I'll do it." Melody said, finding an inner strength that could be traced back to the time when she was fourteen, and was singing her very first song at the Catfish Club—The Next Generation.

"Good. Shake on it." Harmony said, spitting on her hand and extending it out towards Melody. It was a challenge, to see if the girl had truly changed in the past year. To see if she was now a full woman, or if she was still just a girl who longed for a set of adventure, though she was a bit scared of how to go through with it.

"Pffut!" Melody spit on her delicate hand, before extending out to her sister, and clasping hands with each other, and shaking hard. A thrilling thought entered her mind then.

Tomorrow she was going to be Harmony.

* * *

**Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Harmony being Melody and Melodyb being Harmony...tomorrow! HA! Sorry guys, but it's 10:32, and I don't have enough time to write an entire new chapter. Tomorrow though! **

**P.S. Is anyone else (besides me) watching American Idol?!**


	58. Switching Places

"You couldn't have found something…_less _revealing to wear?!" Melody said in an urgent, low voice, as Harmony pulled the girl into her room. Harmony was wearing a button down shirt, with the long sleeves messily raised up to the crease in her elbow. Then came a loose tie that swayed as the girl spun around. But what was the worst of them all…Harmony's skirt was pleated, but it was the cute kind of pleated as it rose to her upper thigh. And of course, to top it all off she was wearing converse.

"I would have…but damn, this outfit is so _hawt_. I've been wanting to wear it for so long, but with Mom always making sure I'm going to school…" Harmony trailed off purposely, pushing her lips out in announce as she looked into her vanity mirror and pushed back the loose strands of her red hair behind her ear. Had Ariel even known that Harmony had this outfit in her room, the woman would have deposited into the trash first chance she got. "And what about you? Couldn't you wear something…_more _revealing to wear?"

"All of my dresses go _past_ my thighs Harmony. You're lucky I'm even wearing _this_." Melody's dress was a baby blue color, the top looked more like a tank top Victorian style to Harmony, and the bottom was of course, the rest of the plain dress. In reality, this was a big sacrifice for Melody, who hated to be plain Jane, unlike her sister.

"Yeah well, boo hoo for you." Harmony said with an eye roll, before grabbing her spell book and setting it on her bed, as she quickly started to flip through the pages. Melody looked over Harmony's shoulder with a hint of fear in her eyes as her heart pumped wildly at just the thought of being Harmony for the day. "Okay, here it is!" Harmony said triumphantly, pointing her finger to a page written in a different script. Ancient script to be exact.

"We have to hold each other's hands, and I have to say the spell aloud. We may black out for a second or two, but we should come back after a moment." Harmony said aloud, her neck craning to her book as she read the directions of the spell, in English, of course.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Melody asked, more fear in her voice now as her heart pumped so hard that it might as well fly out of her chest. How Harmony was able to keep that cool air about her through all of this the girl would never know.

"Not one bit. But that's what makes it fun!" Harmony laughed, before taking Melody's hands in her own. Both girls were standing up, holding their clasped hands with each other to their chests, before Harmony softly started to say the spell aloud.

"_Las meie hinged jätta need võõrustajate, et nad elavad, ja me sõita ja saab teada ühe teise!"_ Harmony's lips uttered the spell exactly as she read it, and instantly, there was an almost blinding bright light inside the girl's room. Her vision went dark for a moment, almost as though she'd passed out, before it returned fully to her. Stumbling backwards in shock, Harmony gasped, weary also from the spell and losing so much energy. She fell with an oomph! on her bed, her black hair going in every which direct—black hair?! Since when…holy crap!

Jumping up from her bed, Harmony ran to her mirror, in the process nearly breaking her neck. In the mirror though, she didn't see herself. She didn't see a girl of seventeen with far too many scars that were hidden under a glamour so no one in school saw and told. She didn't see a girl with a super short skirt, and a loose tie around her neck. Harmony felt her fingers go up to her face in shock as she realized what had happened.

She was Melody.

"Wow." Harmony's voice whispered—though, in truth, it wasn't Harmony who'd spoken the word. No, it had been Harmony's voice…but not from Melody's body. Indeed, Melody had spoken the word. The former red head whirled to her right as she saw her twin sister, in shock, staring at her.

"I'm like…you." Harmony's voice said to the now redheaded Melody who inhabited Harmony's former body. "And you're like…me! Ohmygod…it worked! Haha, it worked!" Melody's body started to do a happy dance around the room, despite how difficult it was with the new dress and new feet. Harmony's mind, which was stuck in Melody's body now, laughed happily as she kept on with her happy dance.

"Harmony, please, stop. You're going to trip and hurt yourself—er, I mean, me." Melody said with a smirk, though the girl had wanted to actually grimace. It seemed Harmony's body though was just programmed at doing a smirk at default. Odd, Melody thought to herself.

"Oh, yeah, right. I need to tell you something." Harmony said quickly, straightening out her posture so that she looked more like Melody and not like her slouchy self. "Here's your class schedule. If you get lost, ask Em, or Lizzie, or Matt, okay? After school you have detention in room 101—please don't be late. And after that you have soccer practice—it's out on the field, you can't miss it—and then after soccer Em's going to drive you to…um…er…the thing I do after soccer practice. _Then_ you can come home. Oh, and also remember that my name in Amherst is Katherine Johnson—Katherine with a 'K', but I usually go by Kathy or Kat." Harmony said no small amount of excitement in her voice. Excitement. When was the last time she was this _happy_? Without taking her anti-depressant, her emotions were…amazingly everywhere! It was pretty nice.

"Alright. And _you_ remember that Brendon has already been nursed this morning—he shouldn't need anything until around lunch or so. I left out a bottle for him with milk, so you don't need to nurse him. If anyone asks why you're feeding him a bottle, just say that you're feeling a little under the weather. No one will question you." Melody said, feeling…well, that was just it. She didn't know what she was feeling. Harmony's body on loan to her couldn't get very excited—or very happy either. It was like, she was stuck somewhere in between sad and happy.

"Cool. See ya then _Harmony_." Melody's voice said, but it was coming from Harmony mind. She'd switched bodies with her sister! How awesome was this! In the first time in years, she wasn't worrying about her powers or anything else—she was just looking forward to the day ahead!

"You too, _Melody_." Harmony's voice said, though it came from Melody's mind. She was going to be Katherine Johnson and Harmony Althea Benson Princess of Shireland today! How…_cool_ was that?

* * *

**Well, they switched! I wonder about next chapter....REVIEW! **

**Ps. Melody's dress is fashioned after Vanessa's (Urusla's human form from the first movie) :D In case you were wondering**


	59. Two of the Same Kind

"Melody? Melody? Melody? Melody!" Ariel's voice finally managed to make her younger daughter look up with a completely wondering expression at breakfast. Though, what Ariel didn't know was that it wasn't really Melody—in fact, it was Melody's body, but Harmony's mind. The girl hadn't responded to the calls because she was so used to being called 'Kat' or 'Harmony'! "I've been trying to talk to you for the past few minutes now Melody! Honestly, is it so hard to answer your own name?" Not if it's not my real name, Harmony's mind thought musingly as a small smirk fell onto her lips.

"Don't be too mad at her," John said shooting an evil grin in his brother and Melody's direction at that. "She was just thinking about last night with Lance. Tell us all Melody, was it hot and heavy?" John said with a malicious intent to get Melody to blush. The girl's body immediately did, but what's troubling is that she still leaned over her plate to look at the boy with a devilish fire in her eyes.

"Oh it was hot and heavy alright. All night long—if you catch my drift." A smile played onto Melody's lips at that, as she saw John stutter over his words momentarily, blushing so hard that his neck was turning red. John and Melody had a history of just plain wanting to destroy each other. As children, they were forced together in many activities to see if they would one day fall in love. Bottom line was, John was a boy, and Melody was a girl. There lies the difference, and the many fights that spawned from it.

"M-M-Melody!" Lance stuttered out, his face turning just as red as his brother's, and as red as everyone else's in shock. Melody never said things like that! In that one moment, she'd sounded almost like…like Harmony. But that was ridiculous—Melody and Harmony were identical twins! Of course at times they sounded alike…though Lance had never experience one until now. Ariel narrowed her eyes at her daughter. Something was starting to smell fishy.

Harmony's stomach grumbled angrily, making Melody wince as she felt the absence of food during fourth period. So far, Melody had managed to a) get the entire front of her shirt wet because of the 'water fountain' which sprayed water all over her b) trip at least five times down the stairs c) get to her class late, have to go to the office to pick up a late pass, and then come back to class only to realize she had the wrong books and finally, d) sit next to two boys who kept making very crude jokes, right in front of Melody—er, Harmony too! Still, she couldn't complain. No one had a clue she was Melody stuck inside Harmony's body yet—though she'd received some odd glances from some of her 'friends'.

Another rumble in her stomach finally resolved Melody to go in search for the kitchen and ask politely for something to eat. Closing her book softly in the quiet classroom of study hall, the girl got up from her seat and started to walk towards the door. Almost instantly, the teacher's head popped up from the laptop as she squinted while looking at Melody—er, Harmony.

"Where are you going?" The teacher asked in a high, reedy voice that immediately made Melody wince mentally, though Harmony's body was completely okay with it.

"To the kitchen to see about a meal for myself. I'm very hungry." It was Harmony's thickly southern accent that came out of her mouth; though it also had a mix with words that sounded so…strange in a class full of kids who'd never heard something so polite sounding before.

"To the kitchen? Don't you mean the cafeteria?" A joking voice called out, as the class laughed. Melody found herself suddenly blushing, her head looking down at her shoes though she had no idea why. She had nothing to be blushing about…but her body just seemed to do it automatically.

"Alright then. To the cafeteria to see about eating something. I didn't have breakfast this morning, you see…" Melody trailed off. Half the class started laughing again, the other started talking about what they ate for breakfast and what they didn't eat.

"Are you being a smart alec with _me_, Miss Johnson?" The teacher asked in a high tone that Melody mentally winced at again. The girl started to fiddle with the end of her skirt, pushing it as low as she possibly could to cover herself up better, though she didn't know why. Wasn't Harmony as sharp tongued girl at school? Why was her body acting so…strange? As though she was a quiet girl that was usually forgotten in the back of class?

"No ma'am." Melody mumbled, her head looking down as her cheeks went in flames. Was this how Harmony really was in school? A quiet girl who didn't argue with her elders? Melody had always thought the girl would be like she was at home…but apparently she _wasn't_.

"Good. Then sit back down and wait for the bell to ring." Ms. Anderson said, watching with squinty eyes as Melody—or rather, Kathy, went back to her seat and sat in it with a sigh and a still hungry stomach. And an also narrowly staring at Harmony Emma. Something was starting to smell fishy.

"Stop crying damnit!" Harmony's voice came out of Melody's body, as baby Brendon wailed in the nursery, his little fist's pounding against Harmony—or rather Melody—in an angry protest as he knew what he wanted. "What do you need?! Ouch, don't grab my hair kid! That fucking _hurts_!" Harmony yelled, holding the baby at least three feet away from her as he kicked and wailed in protest—angry protest.

"He needs to be changed, Melody." A voice said from the doorway, the owner of the voice having raised brows as she clued the girl in. After almost five months of hearing Brendon's cries, you'd think by now Melody would know what her baby needed without any help. You were wrong, apparently.

"He does?" Harmony asked, still holding the baby three feet away from her as her face fell into a grimace—a scared grimace at that. He needed to be changed? As in, his diaper? Um…what? Melody never said she'd have to _change_ Brendon!

"Uh huh." Margaret said with a slow nod, her brows still raised at Melody, as Brendon had started to calm down and had stopped kicking and crying. Harmony had no clue what the hell to do. In all actuality, Emma was the one who knew how to change diapers—since she'd been fourteen, and had been babysitting a one and a ten year old at the same time. Harmony though...had no idea. But if she was Melody, she'd have to fake it.

"Um…yeah, haha, I knew that. Right B—er, Brendon?" The baby was drooling now, as he stuck his fingers into his mouth and let his bright blue eyes travel across the room in curiosity. "Um…where do I put it—him! Him, I said him!" Harmony corrected herself quickly, looking at the drooling baby who was grinning adorably at her, though Harmony really didn't notice as she was more preoccupied with trying to figure out how to change a diaper. They showed you on those pamper commercial's how to like, attach a new diaper, but these weren't pampers. These were like, _cloth_ diapers (ew!).

"On the changing table." Margaret said, her voice prompting skeptically as she watched Melody with narrowed eyes. It wasn't like the girl to not know something about her baby, or hold him away from her as though he was some type of beast. For goodness sake, she wasn't even carrying her baby correctly! At any moment, the child could slip and break his head!

"Right, right." Harmony said with a nervous laugh, as her eyes scanned the nursery set up for when Brendon was visiting. Which piece of furniture in here was the changing table? For goodness sake, Kathy's nursery had consisted of a changing table, a crib, and stuffed animals—not so many pieces of furniture that had no use in the room…or did they have a use? "And where's that again?" Harmony finally asked, scrunching up her nose in disgust as Brendon's drool fell onto her. Well, good thing this wasn't her dress anyway.

"Just…go find your mother or father and spend some time with them Melody. I can take care of Brendon for you." Margaret said, immediately whisking the baby away from Melody's horrible hold on him. The Queen watched as Melody wiped off the drool on her dress, before nodding and walking out of the room. Margaret's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right here.

"Kat, hell-o-o, earth to Kat…" Matt's voice said, frowning when he couldn't capture Kat's attention. The girl was poking warily at her Sloppy Joe burger, not knowing whether to eat it or not. It looked quite messy…and there didn't seem to be any napkins anywhere…

"Kat!" Lizzie finally said, tossing some sprinkles of water onto Kathy's glasses. Melody looked up in surprise at the girl who went by the name of 'Lizzie', as she took her glasses off and started to clean them off with her shirt as she'd seen Harmony do before. Melody almost fell off her chair though when she realized something about Harmony's eyesight. She couldn't see _anything_. Everything was all blurry and fuzzy without her glasses on! Is that was Harmony dealt with everyday? Horrible vision?

"Yes?" Melody asked politely, putting her glasses back on her nose, and pushing them up high so she could see everyone clearly.

"OMG! Did she just—did she just—did you just say _yes_? Omg, sound the alarm, some type of foreign creature has inhabited Kathy! She didn't say anything sarcastic!" Emma said with a laugh, tossing an elbow in Harmony's direction playfully. Harmony didn't respond as she usually would. Instead, she just sat up straight—alarming for her since her posture, like most Americans, was horrible.

"Well, it's kind of like that." Melody said thoughtfully, before turning back to the food with furrowed brows. "What is this?" The girl asked, her tone polite which immediately set off alarms for her friends.

"It's Sloppy Joe. You know, hamburger bun, meat spilling out…" Matt's mouth watered as he just thought of it, as he had already finished his own and was too lazy to get back in line for another. "Oh yeah, here's your twenty bucks Kat. I forgot to give it to you yesterday. Damn, I can't believe you actually ate _all _of that crap." Matt laughed, his vulgar language affecting Melody in her mind, but not Harmony's body.

"Excuse me, but it's not polite to curse. Especially if there's…you know, teachers around. They can get you in trouble." Melody explained sweetly to the boy, putting on her best smile for him. He blinked once, before spurting out all of his fruit punch as he laughed so hard.

"Stop…please…period…cramps…" Lizzie laughed, falling against Matt as she laughed too hard. Kathy's impression of a polite kid was spot on, that was for sure. And it was funny too.

"Nice one making fun of your Mom." Emma laughed, though she didn't notice how Melody's mind immediately stiffened, though her body was still completely relaxed in the presence of these teenagers.

"Dude, your mom must have been the most polite European prostitute—and your dad!" Matt started laughing again, harder this time along with Lizzie and Emma though Melody immediately felt an angry sensation fill her.

"My mother is not a European prostitute! She is a caring, wise, wonderful woman who loves me!" Melody argued angrily. Almost immediately, the three friends stopped laughing as they stared at Harmony's body in shock.

"Kat, we were only kidding. Come on, you know you love to play 'let's guess who Kat's Mom must've fucked so that she's here today'." Lizzie said with a laugh to try and ease the tension.

"Well, it's a joke in poor taste." Poor taste? Immediately the three friends looked at each other with strange expressions, as they all narrowed their eyes at Harmony in suspicion. Though Matt and Lizzie had no clue about the girl's other world, they knew something was up. And Emma's brown eyes just stared a hole into Harmony's skull.

"Melody!" Lance called, as he sprinted up to his wife, who eyed him warily. "I haven't seen you all day. Have you been avoiding me, my little wife?" Lance teased, coming dangerously close to Harmony's—er, Melody's lips.

"Um…no?" Harmony said, gulping as she looked for an escape route. Lance was going to kiss her *ew* and then Melody was going to kill her.

"Sounds like you've been." Lance said, dipping down for a kiss. Harmony finally saw her escape as she shrunk into a little ball on the floor, as Lance's arms were both against the wall, and the girl somersaulted away from his arms.

"Melody? What are you doing?" Lance asked, clearly confused at how his wife had just…somersaulted? But…Melody didn't do that! She didn't somersault; she didn't like to be on the floor at all!

"My amazingly wonderfully great sister Harmony showed me this new trick, and I was testing it out. Yeah—yeah! That sounds completely normal. Yeah, that's what I was doing." Harmony said quickly, though she only made Lance's eyes narrow as he looked at her quizzically. Something about his wife wasn't right. He just knew it.

"Whew! Am I glad that this school day is over! Now I can go home!" Melody said, cheerfully as she knew she'd completed an entire day at school, and now had her entire afternoon to look forward to. All she had to do was go back home, switch with Harmony, and then everything would be fine.

"Okay, stop it." Emma finally said, irked enough to the point where she slammed her locker shut angrily. Melody blinked once, before tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Stop what?" Melody wondered, biting her lip in worry, though she didn't know why.

"Stop acting like you're…you're…Kathy, Melody. It's really starting to piss me off." Emma said, irked beyond belief as she stared at Melody, and wondered what the hell her best friend had done this time. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Melody inside of Harmony's body. The clues were all there.

"When did you figure it out?" Melody asked quizzically, a smirk coming to her lips, by default actually.

"Homeroom I was 90% sure. Lunch I was 100%." Emma said with a snort. "And, just so you know, if your Kathy today, than your day isn't done. You've still got detention, soccer, and then work." Emma said, before Melody groaned, and like her sister, banged her head against her locker. Did Harmony never stop?

"Melody? What do you think your sister would like better? Crème or eggshell?" Ariel wondered to her daughter, who usually had impeccable taste when it came to these things.

"Aren't those the same thing?" Harmony wondered, her brows raised at her mother's words. Ariel's jaw nearly dropped. The same? No they were not the same! And Melody knew that!

"No, they aren't." Ariel said, an uneasy feeling filling her as a thought popped into her mind. No, be quiet, she told her brain. Melody was just a little out of it today, that's all. "Now help me decide on a color for your sister's wedding dress."

"Um…how about…sky blue? It's light enough to pass for white, and it is my—I mean, _Harmony's_, favorite color…" Harmony let her voice trail off, as her eyes wandered up to the grandfather clock in the room.

"Sky blue. I see…" Ariel said, with raised brows, as she shook off her suspicions quickly and looked back at Melody. "Why don't Lance and you go and…spend some time together?" Ariel said, basically telling Melody to go away.

"Um…why don't you just say 'you're really starting to become annoyin' so leave'?" Harmony said with a snort, inside of Melody's body still as she pushed back Melody's black hair. How the girl could keep it in a loose ponytail was beyond her. Her hair was starting to really become annoying…with quick fingers, Harmony started to braid Melody's long black hair, oblivious to the fact Ariel's eyes had locked onto her fingers as she finally figured it all out. But she just needed to test it…

"Melody, Louie said that he was going to make chocolate chip pancakes Saturday morning for Harmony…" Ariel let the thought trail off, as immediately, Melody's eyes became alight and opened wide.

"He is? Omfg, I need to eat some!" Harmony said, excited beyond on all belief….before her delicate ear was twisted…very hard.

* * *

**Well, you can't hide anything from Mom Harmony! You know that! **

**:P Review!**


	60. Switching Places is Why I'm Grounded

"What I can't believe is that you would send your own sister to Nebraska! Who knows what could happen while she's there! What if she gets hurt, or worse?! She could die!" Ariel gasped at the horror, pacing back and forth.

"So, I'm guessing that's a 'no' on the whole chocolate chip pancakes thing." Harmony said, some hopefulness still in her voice that her mother wouldn't be so cruel as to take away her chocolate chip pancakes. She was met with quite few deadly looks from her family.

"Why would Melody just randomly switch places though? I don't understand…" Lance said, pushing back his blonde hair in frustration. His sister in law was stuck inside of his wife's body. Great.

"Well, she wanted more adventure. I wanted something…more boring. We both got more than we bargained for." Harmony said with a chuckle to herself, though the chuckle came out of Melody's mouth and John had to resist the urge to tease Melody.

"You let Melody go to high school, but you don't let me!" Coral whined, but was immediately shushed by a few deadly looks from her family as well. Pouting the girl sat on the armrest of the couch, crossing her arms over her chest in protest.

"I knew something was up when you had no idea what to do with Brendon. I just knew it!" Margaret said, snapping her fingers as she shot a disapproving look to Harmony who just shrugged it off as nothing.

"You were in the nursery?!" Eric choked out, his eyes growing large. Let's just say, Harmony didn't have the best track record for patience…and babies certainly required a lot of it.

"I didn't kill him!" Harmony said defensively, her words coming out of Melody's mouth as her hands flew into an innocent pose. Jeez, everyone was freaking out over nothing!

"But you're not his mother." Leroy said, as Melody shrugged her shoulders, though in reality it was Harmon inside of Melody who was doing that.

"Technically, I am his mother, at least until I can get my own body back. Ugh, I swear, being Melody is no fun. She's so…bleh!" Harmony said, scrunching up her nose in disgust as she crossed her arms over her chest. It was true though. She'd thought being Melody would be fun…or at least, boring. It wasn't thought. Because between the kid crying, Lance wanting to make out, and Ariel and Margaret's constant questions….well.

"I heard that." A weary voice said into the room, the owner of the voice worn down and tired beyond all compare. Ariel gave a relieved sigh as she hugged Harmony---er, Melody, close to her, making sure the girl was alright.

"Oh honey. You must be exhausted. Here, let Harmony switch you two back, and then you go straight up to bed and sleep. I'll send a tray up to your room for dinner, don't worry." Ariel said gently, handing the girl over to her father so that he could hug her in relief too.

"Ugh. Now that's just plain unfair. She get's the special treatment, but I don't? I come home everyday looking like that, and you don't send me up to bed, or have a tray sent to _my_ room." Harmony said, the logistics of all of this really annoying her. But it was true though. Ariel never once did that for Harmony! Why did Melody get the special treatment?!

"You're used to it." Ariel said simply, knowing it was unfair, but hey, that was life.

"No one can get used to it." Melody groaned, falling onto the couch with Harmony's body. "I don't know how you do it Harm, I really don't." Melody said, her mind weary, but her body still ready to run a mile if asked. How did Harmony do that?

"I'm guessing your day wasn't so much fun, was it?" Harmony wondered, looking at herself…though, she wasn't in herself. Do you know how creepy that is? Looking at you, but not looking at yourself?

"Not one bit." Melody groaned. "First, I barely made it to school on time—wearing _this_ no less. Then in your classes you can't do anything! And I was so hungry—but I wasn't allowed to go and eat anything! How can you not eat any breakfast in the morning Harmony? Don't you get hungry? Anyway, your body is so clumsy, and I dropped all these heavy books that weigh a lot more than one time—and at least thirty people passed me in the hallway and no one helped me pick them up! And then, when I got thirsty and went to one of those little fountain things, I got this shirt all wet because it splashed me! And then, I got to my next class late so I had to get a late pass and by the time I got back I realized I didn't even have that classes books! And people just kept telling me all these mean things when they passed me in the halls…and then I can't believe you let your friends play that awful game of 'guess who your parents are' really, it's not nice and you know it. And then that lunch was atrocious! Sloppy Joe?! What?! And I had to serve your detention for an hour, and that is the silliest thing I have ever done because you just sit there and do nothing! What's the point! And what's worse is that it took me forever to change into your soccer clothes, so I got late to practice, and I got yelled at and had to run a lot! And finally, when I thought practice was done, I learn that you work! WORK! I had to go into that stupid thing that Emma drives and go to the bookstore and have people yell at me some more when I had no clue about any of the books! And now, finally, I'm home and I still have a mountain of homework to do and it's completely not fair! I _**hate**_ high school!" Melody groaned; officially ready to never ever ever go back to high school again. Ariel's blue eyes were staring down Melody's body, which was Harmony at all this new information—the girl knew she was going to get it later.

"Yeah well, your life sucks just as much. First that stupid kid of yours wouldn't shut up, than I couldn't even go to the library because Lansing Michigan over there decided he wanted a make out sess—thank gawd I managed to escape before we made out. And then I can't believe that there are so many stupid questions that have to do with a wedding! Eggshell and Crème are the same damn color—there's no difference! And now, when we switch back, I've got to run like hell because Mom is going to beat my sorry ass until I'm dead!" Harmony groaned just as well, wincing as she knew what would come later with Ariel.

"Let's just switch back already. I want to go to sleep." Melody groaned, tucking a loose red strand of red hair behind her ear. She'd pulled Harmony's hair back into a ponytail instead of its customary braid; it was nicer that way, or so the girl thought.

"Agreed." Harmony said, sitting up as she took Melody's hands within her own. "_Las meie hinged jätta need võõrustajate, et nad elavad, ja me sõita ja saab teada ühe teise!"_ The same blinding light from before, the same moment of darkness….except this time, when all of it went away, Harmony passed out—but at least she passed out back in her normal body.

* * *

**Until tomorrow Kiddies! G'night! and REVIEW!**


	61. Nightmares and Fire

"NO!" Harmony yelled, with such force that it propelled her into a sitting up position. "No…no…no…" Harmony sobbed, making it back to her pillow and clutching onto it tightly as she sobbed into it so no one could hear the extent of her pain. She must have not taken her pill the night before, the girl's mind mused, before she sniffled once, wiping off her tears with the back of her nightgown sleeve before sitting up. Besides the nightmares that had plagued her the entire night before…she felt like she'd gotten a good sleep.

Turning her head, Harmony looked at the red digits of her alarm clock…before her eyes went wide and her mind started to panic. Eleven thirty?! Why had no one woken her up! Shit, she was going to be late for school!  
Jumping up from the bed, the girl hurriedly started to prepare herself for school. First by flinging off the stupid nightgown and instead slipping on a sky blue button down shirt—obviously pushing her sleeves up so that it looked better—and a pair of blue skinny jeans. Looking at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, the girl frowned as she saw how plain she looked…before she unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt. Perfect, the girl thought to herself, before quickly hurrying around.

Her hair was almost impossible to control today, the girl realized with a slight, hectic frown. She couldn't braid it if it was too knotted, and she didn't have time to start brushing through all her knots. Quickly then, Harmony pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and since she couldn't find any hair bands, just used a blue ribbon to make sure it stayed there. It was a rarity for Harmony to pick her hair up, and the girl knew she was going to get it from her friends today.

Finally pulling on her converse, Harmony grabbed both her soccer bag, and her normal Jansport book bag, before practically breaking her neck as she ran downstairs. She managed not to trip at all—which for Harmony was a huge accomplishment. Shaking out her sleepiness, the girl yawned before opening the door to the private sitting room, and found her mother, father, and Melody, all relaxing.

"I need a late note to get to school—signed by my parent or guardian, unless I want to get yelled at and then get _another _week of detention." Harmony's voice broke through the room. Almost immediately, all heads turned to look up at her, and then to Melody, just to make sure they were as they should be. Thankfully, to everyone's relief, they were.

"You're not even going to say a simple 'good morning' to your family Harmony?" Ariel wondered, sighing as she motioned for her daughter to come closer so she could write a note out for the girl.

"Correct. Instead, I'm going to say, why the hell didn't you wake me up? I have a history test, an economics test, _and_ a French test today—if I don't make them up by the end of today, that's a zero out of a hundred, and then I'm going to drop at least a letter grade in my classes, and the quarter is closing today so I can never make it up!" Harmony said, a tired argument in her voice as she ripped out a sheet of paper from her spiral notebook, and let her hand search for a pen in her bag. Ah, bingo.

"Wait, _how_? You didn't have any of those classes yesterday!" Melody asked her sister, subconsciously rubbing her arms in the process to make sure she didn't have those awful scars all along them that Harmony had—but she hid them from everyone with a glamour…usually, but she couldn't hide them from herself.

"That was Day one Melody. Today's Day two, which means I have an entire new set of classes." Harmony said with a shrug, clicking the pen before handing it off to her mother so the woman could write her a note.

"Oh." Melody said quietly, though in reality her mind was spinning. Harmony had two days of classes? Now that just…sucked all around! No wonder she always came home weary and tired.

"I'm going to be home late today." Harmony finally let the bomb drop, as her mother looked up from the note she was writing to excuse Harmony's tardiness, with raised brows no less, and Eric shared a wary look with his wife.

"Why?" Eric questioned finally, making sure his voice was firm so that Harmony knew that he wouldn't accept her sarcasm.

"Um…Senior Class meeting after school, I promised Lizzie I'd help her fill about a million water balloons for the carnival tomorrow, I've got to go to work, and then I've got a seven o' clock soccer game—which will last until past nine." Harmony said with a shrug, watching as her mother sighed and elbowed Eric in his ribs, before returning back to writing out a late note for Harmony.

"Harmony, about you working…" Eric trailed off, not really knowing what to say. Honestly, neither he, nor his wife, nor Melody had worked a day in their life—and fishing really didn't count as work when he was younger, rather, it'd been more like a sport. But Harmony had willingly found a job, something to support herself on, and got paid actual money. It just made the fact that she had parents completely useless.

"Not now Dad. I had a horrible night, I overslept, my hair is a complete mess and my clothes I managed to dig out from the bottom of my drawer, and I'm just so tired that if I don't fall asleep in French it'll be a miracle." Harmony said with a grimace, blinking off her exhaustion. Ariel frowned as she looked up at her daughter, before setting the pen down and pushing Harmony's spiral notebook away from her.

"Now is a perfect time." Ariel said, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress before looking back up at Harmony. "Your seventeen Harmony—_and_ a princess no less. Going to school in Nebraska and playing soccer is one thing, but working is an entirely different thing. You have everything you need here, at home. You don't need to work." Ariel stated in a firm tone making Harmony look up with annoyance in her eyes.

"I have my reasons why I do." Harmony said clearly, her voice a low growl to her parents. Why couldn't they understand the way she felt? Why couldn't they just let her have her job, have her own life, have the things she needed.

"Mother, Dad, it's really not that bad. I mean, she works in a bookstore—what's wrong with just letting her keep her job for the next two days?" Melody asked, trying to stick up for her parents, before Harmony's brows rose at her words.

"Excuse me? _Two _days? Why can't I keep my job—and make my own life decisions—for as long as I'm sane and happy?" Harmony asked, her voice clearly annoyed and just the slightest bit angered to her sister.

"Your right Melody; I forgot about that." Ariel said, her face thoughtful as played back Melody's words in her own mind. Well, if Harmony wanted a job so bad she could keep it for the next two days—and then leave. It made perfect sense.

"Um…he-llo? Does no one see undeniably sexy looking seventeen year old red head in the room?!" Harmony asked in bewilderment, as her mother had completely ignored her words, and Melody had, once again, failed in trying to stick up for her sister.

"Hush Harmony." Ariel chastised, as she continued to think it all out. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. "Alright sweetheart, if it matters that much to you, then keep your…err…_job_. Two more days won't hurt, I suppose." Ariel's thoughtful tone said, as Harmony flopped back onto the couch with a groan.

"Un-be-lievable." Harmony muttered under her breath, before addressing her mother. "Okay, I'll play along. Why can I just keep my job for the next two days?" Harmony wondered her voice pure annoyance and bewilderment.

"In two days time you're not going to be a girl anymore Harmony; you'll be a wife." Eric explained, mentally adding 'and if Jonathan even comes near you before then, I will personally make sure he can never walk again'.

"Uh huh." Harmony said slowly. "And…that has what to do with me working again?" Harmony wondered, her voice slow as she waited for an explanation courtesy of her parents.

"Well…school will be ending soon enough…and…soccer ends Saturday…you'll be able to stay at home more…and have children?" Ariel offered a sheepish explanation, twiddling her thumbs as she gave her daughter a sorry smile. Not as sorry as you're going to be though, Harmony thought angrily to herself.

"Alright, listen to me. I. Am. Not. You. Any of you. I'm seventeen. I don't want to _be_ pregnant—ever. And, if that's not good enough for you, than you can all go and screw yourselves because it's good enough for _**me**_. You know why I work? Because the next time you kick me out, I can be prepared, and I can have enough money to support _myself_." Harmony said, a raging fire in her eyes—and on her hand, as in one moment. Grabbing the note Ariel had written out, the girl stared with hatred in her eyes at her family, and with just a muttered word under her breath, she vanished from the room.


	62. Te Amo, Ma Petite Sorcière

After coming back from her soccer game around 8:30 (they'd mercy ruled the team easily, which had shocked Harmony) the girl took a quick bath, before trying to see John before she went to bed. She still hadn't talked to her family about that morning—or rather, she still hadn't talked to her family at all. She didn't feel like crying.

Harmony found her love inside the library, completely warped into the book he was reading…till he caught sight of Harmony. Though she was wearing basically the same outfit he'd once seen her going to sleep in once before—short shorts, an old soccer t-shirt that had the collar ripped so that it fell off her shoulder, and her robe on, but not fastened around her—the boy's eyes couldn't help but trail Harmony's beautiful form.

"Move over." Harmony's voice commanded, making John move a little on the couch, and have Harmony sit in his arms, resting her head against his chest. A contented sigh left her lips at that, as she took in his scent. "I've barely had time to be with you since you came." Harmony's soft voice said, closing her eyes tiredly on top of John, who grinned down at her.

"Not true exactly. You spent the day here, at the palace, yesterday. It's just that you were in Melody's body. Though, I kind of guessed as much at breakfast." John said thoughtfully, slipping his hands around Harmony's slim waist and letting them rest there.

"Mhm. I knew you would." Harmony murmured, letting John's hot breath fall onto her bare slightly wet neck. Her hair fell in loose, pin straight, red strands across her back—for the first time all day being loose, instead of just in a ponytail. "You know, every time we come to a library we're interrupted…." Harmony let her thought trail off, as John smiled that devilish smile of his at Harmony.

"We are, aren't we?" John mused, brushing aside Harmony's thick red hair that was still wet from her bath, and leaving a trail of kisses from her collar bone up to her chin. The girl gave a laugh as she opened her tired blue eyes, and wrapped her arms around his neck—though she was doing it backwards since her head was still lying on his chest.

"You're supposed to be the good one." Harmony chastised, though in a playful manner so John knew that she wasn't being serious, and that she was enjoying his trailing kisses.

"Good? Nay, my fair lady, I am as horrible as they come." John said with that devilish smile of his, letting his hands start to trail upwards on Harmony's chest…before the girl started giggling. It was muffled giggles at first, but they soon came to be muffled laughs as his hands trailed even further up on Harmony's stomach—over her shirt, of course.

"You're ticklish." John said, a bit awed by the fact that someone so strong, so tough, so sarcastic, so sporty…a witch even, was brought down by something so mundane.

"No…no…I'm ju-just…remembering something…funny." Harmony gasped out between laughs, trying to keep her laughter under control. Unfortunately, she was ticklish. Her friends used it as a torturing method to get her to fess up to something; Ryan had used it as a fun way to torture his sister and pass the time. Ryan…just thinking about him, just his name, usually made Harmony feel…depressed, even with her pills. Though, when she was around John…it was like, like, that was some part of her past, and now with him, she was about to embark on her future. It was thrilling and unnerving at the same time.

"Oh of _course_." John said, sarcasm laced into his voice, but a kind of playful sarcasm. "So, you won't laugh whatsoever, if I do…this?" John's hands started flying around Harmony's stomach, making the girl laugh harder and harder, all the while begging him to stop because it was an unfair match. Or, at least, it was an unfair match, till John suddenly found his hands frozen in midair, and unable to move them at all.

"Don't mess with the witch." Harmony said, her voice still laced with happy giggles as she tried to keep them all out of her system. John looked once at his hands, then at Harmony, before grinning and laughing. So what if Harmony was a witch? He loved her—every part of her—and that included her being a witch. Actually, if anything, her being a witch made him love her more because it was something no other girl in probably the entire two worlds had.

"The cute witch, to be exact." John added, before finally finding his could move his hands again. They dropped down onto Harmony, who immediately let her slender fingers wrap with his. The boy was amazed to find how Harmony's hand wasn't so…smooth. Actually, it was rough, as though she'd spent her life not being such a girly girl, and just going out and doing things. The thought made him find an almost new respect for her.

"_Te amo._" Harmony said softly, in Spanish as she yawned and closed her eyes again, curling up in John's warm arms happily. If this was what it would be like every night when she was married…then the wedding should be moved up!

"What does that mean?" John wondered, his voice thick as he realized he was falling asleep too. He should escort Harmony back to her room…but, hey, as long as she was happy on the couch with him…

"I love you, in Spanish." Harmony whispered, almost asleep now with an angelic smile on her face.

"Oh." John said, realizing it. "Then _te amo_ to you too, _ma petite sorcière_." John said softly, letting himself slowly start to fall asleep to the lullaby of Harmony's steady breathing. For once, the girl wasn't scared about falling asleep and seeing her nightmares. She was just glad that she was with John.

"What does that mean?" It was Harmony's turn to ask, her legs curling to her short shorts as her robe wasn't really fastened. But, she liked it unfastened, and besides, this was how she and John first discovered their new feelings for each other.

"My little witch." John said, yawning as Harmony gave a contented sigh in approval, before they both fell fast asleep.

"Where could they _be_?" Ariel asked herself, looking at the clock with a grimace. Almost ten; Harmony should have been home by now, and John should have been in his own room. And yet, both the teenagers were nowhere to be found. Ariel had a sickening feeling in the bottom of her stomach, as she prayed they hadn't run off somewhere and…er…_consummated_ their engagement.

"When I get my hands on him, I swear…" Margaret trailed off, furiously as she thought of her son. Instead of worry, she was more annoyed, because Jonathan pulled these stunts more often than once—just to annoy his parents mind you. Harmony on the other hand only did this when she was feeling a bit…confused, and sometimes her confusion led her to do…not so great things.

"Do you think they could have…?" Ariel bit her lip, hoping to god that her daughter hadn't pulled a Melody and they would find her lying in a meadow—naked, with a boy.

"I hope not." Margaret sighed, grimacing at just the thought of it. What had happened with Lance and Melody had made her furious, but also at the same time happy she was to have a grandchild—but still furious that her son had been sneaking around with the girl. "I guess the only thing we can do is keep our fingers crossed." Margaret said with a sigh, pushing back her blonde hair away from her face.

"And hope that they haven't." Ariel added, weakly smiling a nervous smile at just thought of it. Harmony's wedding was in two days; couldn't the girl just wait till then? Sighing, the red head pushed open the doors of the library, the last place she was checking before she sent out search parties.

She was met with a…sight.

Harmony was peacefully curled up on top of John, her red hair still damp from her bath. John had his arms wrapped around Harmony, his head falling on top of hers as he had fallen asleep too. Thankfully, both their clothes were still on…despite the fact that Harmony's clothes were just…short, and showed too much skin all together. But what amazed Ariel completely is that even though Harmony hadn't taken her anti-depressant—morning and night—the girl was still peacefully asleep, as though nightmares had never touched her before.

"Oh." Margaret breathed in a sigh of relief, finding that just her son and almost daughter were just fast asleep on top of each other—they hadn't done anything else, thankfully. "How sweet." The woman murmured, a smile coming to her lips as she saw how cute the sight of Harmony and John curled up and sleeping together was.

"Ditto." Ariel said with a small laugh, using Harmony's words for 'I agree'. Gently, she brushed back her daughter's hair, and delivered a kiss to the girl's forehead. Margaret did the same, but for her own son, as both women wondered when on earth their children had become so grown.

"Should we wake them?" Margaret wondered, smiling in spite of herself at her son. How on earth was it that one moment she's holding a newborn in her exhausted arms, and the next he's holding the girl he wants to marry in his own.

"No, let's let them rest. Tomorrow's a busy day after all." Ariel said with a small laugh to herself, knowing full well that she would tell her husband that she'd sent her daughter to bed—her own bed, when she'd found the girl inside the library—awake—and talking to her fiancée. If Eric knew that Harmon and John were sleeping together…well, as Harmony would say 'world war three would break out'.

* * *

**Soo....HI! Sorry I haven't updated in forever...i've been lazy, not busy! **

**Anyway, look at these TWO chapters I made for you guys! I was typing during the car ride (which apparently can make one very very very carsick) all over town--my parents dragged me along to 'errands day!' Fun way to spend MY saturday, huh? Anyways, REVIEW OR I'LL MAKE YOU LICK THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SHOES AND THAT'S GROSS SO THERE! HAHAHAHAAHA!**

**P.S. Anima-Animal-Animosity (I don't care if I spelled that correctly or not--lol!) and me and evil bunnies with cookies destroyed a bunch of zombie librarians the other day! Also, we have a club. It's called...The Sugar Eating Teen Demons, for teenagers who LOVE sugar, and have sick and twisted minds! Yeah, I know, we're awesome! The only person NOT aloud to join though is xJadeRainx for reasons that will never become apparent. :P**


	63. Daddy's Mad

Tomorrow Harmony was going to be married.

Just that one thought made Eric sigh and shake his head. What was sad is the fact that _he_ was actually sad his daughter would be 'Manelin' after tomorrow, and not just 'Benson'. To be fair, he'd only known Harmony for four years—and one of them he made as miserable as possible for the girl, so that didn't count. And the first year of her childhood didn't count either, because she'd been too small to do anything more than giggle when he picked her up. So, in all, he'd really only known Harmony for two years. And that's what hurt the most.

For eleven, almost twelve years, he knew nothing but Harmony was missing. As horrible as it sounds, he'd actually thought Ariel had done something with the child….until she refused to come out of their room. Until she started to cut herself. Until she made him fear for her life. But going back to the original point, Eric hadn't been a father to Harmony. Biologically speaking, yes, he was her father. But truthfully, he knew Harmony didn't accept him as her father. Her adopted father would always be her real father, no matter how horrible he'd been, because that's all she'd ever known. And that hurt more than Eric would ever let on.

Sighing and shaking his head again, Eric pushed open the doors of the library to try and find a good book to read and escape these troublesome thoughts. Usually, he'd be spending some time with Ariel, or doing work for his kingdom, or even trying to find Harmony and talk to her…but…Ariel was too busy with the wedding, he'd finished the work for his kingdom yesterday so he could have the next two days free of any work, and Harmony was missing for the moment. But Eric _did_ find out where daddy's little girl was, by just turning his head.

Harmony was resting her loose, thick red head of hair on top of John's chest, peacefully asleep. Her legs were curled up next to her, and her face looked like that of a fallen angel who was just too tired to stay awake. John was resting his head on top of Harmony's, with his brunette hair falling over his face and his hands just a bit too low for Eric's liking on Harmony's waist. That's when the fact that his daughter was sleeping with John hit Eric.

"Harmony Althea Benson!" Eric's deadly voice said in his furiously calm tone, grabbing Harmony's ear and twisting it so hard that the girl woke up with a cry of pain and in the process, woke up John. "You have exactly two seconds to tell me what you're doing here Harmony, or I swear I will…I will…call off the entire wedding!" Eric was bluffing, and he knew Harmony knew from the expression she gave her father, when she ripped her ear away from his grasp.

"We weren't doing anything sir! We just fell asleep!" John came in, trying not to get Harmony in trouble. But, from the look she shot him he realized it would probably be better to shut his mouth.

"Jonathan you'll know when I want to talk to you." Eric said in a furious voice still, before turning back to Harmony. "What. Are. You two. Doing here. Sleeping together?!' Eric said through clenched teeth, his expression basically on fire as he stared Harmony down. There were few things that could make Eric so angry that he was on the verge of killing the next man who talked to him—Harmony was one of those few things.

"We. Fell. Asleep." Harmony said, imitating Eric's furious tone. "Dad, our clothes are still on! We didn't do anything! I was tired from school, John was tired from waiting up for me, and we just crashed!" Harmony explained, in a slightly out of breath tone.

"Well, I'm going to help you crash right into your room young lady!" Eric yelled, his tone making Harmony wince, and John squeezing her hand to let her know that the yelling wasn't directed just at her, and that he was here too. "You are grounded for the next month, and if you even think about leaving your room—for _anything_—I swear I will take away every privilege you have, do you understand young lady?!" Eric yelled his eyes ablaze with fire.

"Eric, the wedding is tomorrow. And plus, there are still last minute things they need to do—and Harmony still has to go to school today." Ariel's quiet voice floated into the library, as Eric whipped his furious head in her direction.

"The wedding is canceled!" Eric yelled, making John wince. Amazingly though, Ariel nor Harmony winced whatsoever, they just took it in with expressions set like stone and that were too hard to understand what they were really thinking.

"Not after all the effort I put into it isn't." Ariel said, her voice firm, but still quiet to her husband as she slipped next to him gracefully—too gracefully for Harmony actually. The girl was a klutz; she was just used to falling. "If you remember correctly Eric, you and I did the same thing they did when we were engaged. We were both so tired…and we just fell asleep. Nothing happened." Ariel reminded, making sure he husband knew how unfair he was being.

"That was different." Eric brushed off his wife's words, as his temper slowly started to fade away. How was it Ariel was able to do that to him? Make him not angry when he was furious?

"No. You just have double standards." Ariel stated firmly, making sure her husband knew her point of view…which, of course, was the right point of view. Turning her gaze onto her daughter and fiancée, she started to talk to them both.

"Jonathan, go back to your room and get ready for breakfast. And Harmony sweetheart, get to your room and get ready for school." Ariel said, a small smile on her lips as she saw Harmony and Jonathan furiously nod, using Ariel's escape route and practically breaking their necks almost running out of the room.

"My love, you have to loosen up." Ariel noted, before taking Eric's hand in her own and leading him to the couch Harmony and John were sitting on before. "We did the same thing—accidently, of course, or so we said." Ariel said with a wicked smile that her daughter had most definitely inherited from her.

"Ariel…" Eric warned, not liking her tone. "Harmony is still my little girl until tomorrow; I'm not going to let her do anything like we did." Eric stated, as Ariel snorted, and let her fingers brush through her husband's black waves of hair.

"Really? Because I was planning on letting her sneak around the palace in the middle of the night." Ariel said, sarcasm thick in her voice as Eric winced at Ariel's words. "She's a young teenager in love Eric; and besides, they fell asleep on a couch, with their clothes on, in the library. Knowing Harmony, if she wanted to do anything she would have done it by now." Ariel noted, as her husband knew that now his wife had a point…but he was a father. He would forever be overprotective of his daughter.

"She's still grounded for falling asleep with him Ariel." Eric muttered, his shoulders slumping as Ariel laughed, lightly so her husband knew that she wasn't mad or anything like that.

"Oh of course Eric." Ariel said, trying to keep the giggles out of her tone. Harmony was grounded, yes of course. Let's see how long _that_ would last, Ariel thought with another laugh to herself.


	64. Alot of Randomness in One Chapter

Harmony came back home at twelve, seeing as how it was carnival day at school. The girl's wet polka dotted bikini showed through her thin white shirt, and the back of her shorts were wet from the bottom of her bikini. A pair of dark, aviator sunglasses covered her eyes as wet drops fell down her face. Still, she had a wide grin on her face, as she held in her hand her camera, with quite a few images of the freshmen who'd dunked her today. They'd be getting it once she came back from spring break. But for now, she was relaxed, and chlorine soaked…which didn't fly well with her mother, and as a result got her a lecture and a very, very torturous bath.

When finally, Harmony was released from the jaws of death (also known as her mother with soap) she learned something that made her absolutely annoyed. She wasn't allowed to see John for the next 24 hours, until she was walking down the aisle. No matter how much begging, pleading, and pouting she did, her mother, along with Margaret wouldn't let her see John. At all. Something about some random superstition about something going wrong at her wedding if she did. Still, Harmony mused that she'd most likely cross paths with John sooner or later today. She mused wrong.

Ariel and Margaret were completely intent on making sure Harmony was kept so busy that she couldn't find the boy. Melody gave a weak smile towards her sister every time the girl scowled in her direction for playing a small part in all of this. And Coral was down in Atlantica, no doubt whining that her parents were being unfair in beaching her. So what if she snuck out of the Shireland palace the night before? It's not like she did anything…or at least *wink* that's what she told her parents. Still, apparently that didn't take away the fact that she'd snuck out, and been caught by her own mother no less.

Attina had been up at the surface to listen to the waves crash against the shore, and to soothe her wayward feelings. For some inexplicable reason, when she'd talked to her mother earlier, she'd felt something off from the women. Athena had confessed to her older daughter that she had a terrible feeling something bad was going to happen in two days time, at Harmony's wedding…and then the thoughts had stayed with the now Queen of Atlantica (her husband was technically king, but only by title as everyone knew that it was Attina who had the actual power) as she went up to the surface to try and figure out those conflicting feelings.

Upon reaching the surface though, Attina had been confronted by one teensy little fact. Her temporarily human daughter sneaking across the shoreline, wearing Harmony's clothes. They had been a bit big on her, but Harmony didn't mind when Coral borrowed her stuff, and the girl was relieved at that because she loved wearing pants instead of a dress. It made her feel as though she was on the edge.

Anyway, while sneaking across the shore, Attina, at first glance, had thought it was Harmony sneaking around. Upon realizing it was her own child though…well, let's just say all of the understanding left the Queen as it was replaced by pure fury. Since Harmony wasn't around, Coral had left her necklace that could transform her into a mermaid, and Attina found the trident an irksome thing to constantly carry around, all the woman really could do was lecture her daughter ('lecturing' here means threatening) and send the girl back to the Shirland palace. The next morning, Attina had caught Ariel down by the beach before breakfast, as was usual of the Queen to do.

After explaining to her youngest sister all about what had happened the night before, Ariel had been forced to hand over Coral to her still fuming mother. No matter how much pleading from both Ariel and Coral to just let it be and let things slide, Attina hadn't seen the light.

And that is the tale about why Coral was in Atlantica, instead of in Shireland, during a weekday.

Going back to Harmony though, the girl was quickly tiring. Last minute alterations were made to Harmony's wedding dress; the girl was chastised about being absolutely out of it at times, _and _she wasn't allowed anywhere out of Ariel's line of sight, because the mother knew full well that Harmony would go and see John, just to spite Ariel.

Seriously, how annoying was that? To know that you were being watched as though you were two years old and couldn't do a damn thing. Harmony's nerves were beginning to get fried, and the girl had turned into a real bridezilla when Ariel and Margaret kept annoying her with question after question after question. Thankfully though, Harmony's homicidal thoughts about what would happen if she just reached out and snapped Ariel and Margaret's necks was put to rest when Melody had uttered one word.

Dingleberry.

The girl had picked it up from Coral, who had kept saying it every time Harmony got just a bit too lovey duvvy about John. Quickly realizing it was a word that could keep Harmony sane, Melody had used it in order to protect her mother's life and her mother in law's life. Harmony had soon calmed down after hearing the word, but that didn't meant that the parade of annoying, idiotic, contarded, strange, stupid, weird, more than twenty, dumb, almost blonde like, slow, questions ended.

Finally, when all stupid questions were put to a rest, Harmony's wedding gown was deemed to perfectly fit her, and the girl was released from all of that, and was allowed finally, to go to her room to rest. Though, if you think that Harmony's last night as a girl alone in her room was filled with pleasant dreams about the day tomorrow, you obviously have the wrong story.

**

* * *

**

** *Insert Something Funny or Intersting Here***

**This chapter, my dear readers, is what I call a filler chapter. It has no importance. Actually, nothing interesting happens in it---at all. The story about Attina and Coral was just to get more words, and that slew of adjectives that was just in the ending of the second to last paragraph served the same purpose. Why did I write this chapter then, if it means nothing? Well, at first, it did have an interesting little mini plot in it. But, i decided against that mini plot because it would have taken at least three chapters to finish, and I really want to get to the actual plot for all of you. Anyway, I wouldn't have also written this chapter, had it not been for the fact that I can't just jump into the next chapter. I had to give it a sort of, introduction so that it wasn't so choppy and out of place. You'll see what I mean when I post it up...probably tonight!**

**My goal is to get to the actual plot tomorrow...but we've all seen how much of a procrastinator I am! Anyway, this chapter (without the authors notes!) is exactly 1000 words long. You will not believe how much I was staring at the word count and trying to think of new adjectives so that I had enough for 1000 exactly! I'm OCD yes I no. **

**Soo...right now, I'm eating popcorn! The buttery kind, not the low calorie kind that my mom randomly likes! BLEH! I always say that if your going to eat junk food, at least make it taste good! That way, when you feel guilty later (not that I ever actually do) you know that you at least had a fun time eating it! :P **

**Oh and Eragon (yes, you remember, my BLUE pet dragon) is doing quite fine. She attends her dragon school everday, and it never seems to make me more proud than when she comes home with a note from the principal saying tha**t **she was** **torturing xJadeRainx's dragon. *Sniffle* I always knew Eragon was something special! **


	65. Not So White Wedding

_Harmony was spinning. _

_The girl was literally spinning in circles, twisting this way and that as different chords of music floated into her ears. She didn't know why her heart was pounding like the drums of war, or why she was panting and sweating so hard. She had no idea why she was so scared, or why her face was starting to pale. Then, she saw him. _

_He had hatred, hurt, fury, and mischief all rolled into one in his eyes. She knew him from the way he moved, the way he looked at her, the way his dark brown hair was jelled upwards on his head. Harmony knew that look of resentment and pain he was giving her, and in one word, she summed him up. _

_"Ryan." Harmony whispered, but her whisper wasn't head by him. In his hand, he held a bloody knife, the same knife that had killed him. There was a spot on his shirt that was thickly matted with blood; he didn't seem to care as his fist clenched on the knife tightly and he looked out a window and his mouth moved. _

"_**Hey little sister what have you done?  
Hey little sister who's the only one?**_

_Harmony turned her sweat filled face to the window, terrified at what she'd see. But…it wasn't a tortured image she saw. No, it was only two children playing outside, in the view of the window. A boy and a girl, about ten and eight, running after each other and laughing. Suddenly, Ryan's voice found the girl again, pulling her from her staring at a younger version of herself. _

"_**Hey little sister who's your superman?  
Hey little sister who's the one you want?  
Hey little sister shot gun!**_

_Ryan was suddenly closer to Harmony, and the girl suddenly realized she wasn't spinning any longer. No, she wasn't spinning, but something worse was happening to her. Her arms were locked above her head in chains, and no matter how many times she twisted and pulled; she could not break free of the bonds. _

"_**It's a nice day to start again.  
It's a nice day for a white wedding.  
It's a nice day to start again.**_

_Ryan's voice was bitter as he said those words, Harmony/Kathy realized, her heart pumping in fear now. She had no idea why, but she was terrified suddenly. Even more terrified than she'd been before as she saw the grip on the bloody knife tighten in Ryan's hand as he stared at her with his eyes burning with emotions. _

"_Ryan, it's not like that!" The girl blurted from her mouth, tears stinging her view. "I love him!" The girl shouted again, though immediately she knew it'd been the wrong thing to say. Ryan's eyes opened wider with hatred as his grip on the knife became so hard that the blade cut open his skin. He didn't seem to notice as blood, instead of his hand, it poured from his heart. Staining his shirt even further. _

"_**Hey little sister who is it you're with?  
Hey little sister what's your vice and wish?**_

_"Ryan, please!" Harmony/Kathy realized she was sobbing now, harder and harder as she saw how her brother was planning it all out. He was going to kill her. He was going to kill her because, since he'd died for her love, and now she was loving again, she didn't deserve it. So she had to die. Angrily, Ryan pointed towards the window again, as if showing Harmony/Kathy that he knew her better than any boy. _

"_**Hey little sister shot gun, oh yeah.  
Hey little sister who's your superman?  
Hey little sister shot gun!**_

_"Ryan!" Harmony/Kathy scream sobbed, shaking her head back and forth. "That's different; I'm different! I'm not a little girl anymore!" Harmony/Kathy cried out, trying to move away from the chains but to no avail. Every time she moved the chains got tighter and tighter. _

"_**It's a nice day to start again come on.  
It's a nice day for a white wedding  
It's a nice day to start again.**_

_Ryan was suddenly inches from Harmony's face, him looming over her as her heart started to beat faster in fear. Taking the knife in his hand, he let the cold, bloody blade move against Harmony's cheek, as though he was warning her to choose the right person to love. Suddenly, he turned around, clutching the knife even tighter in his hand, before turning back to Harmony with rage burning in his eyes. _

"_**Pick it up!  
Take me back home yeah!**_

_Suddenly, Kathy found herself back at home. Her old room in Nebraska, broken and desolate. Things torn, shattered, everything you can imagine. A cruel smile went on Ryan's features as he looked up at Kathy or Harmony, or whoever she was, and pointed the knife in the direction of her carpeted floor, and her bed, and the blood stain that was still there. _

"_**Hey little sister, what have you done? Hey little sister what have you done?**_

_Ryan was still pointing his bloody knife towards the large stain on both the girl's bed and her carpet. The girl sobbed uncontrollably, shaking her head back and forth as though she had no words to say. _

_"I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know you would kill yourself!" The girl cried out, trying to make her point come across to Ryan. He didn't see it. Instead, he smiled cruelly, and threw the knife at the wall, almost at Harmony's head. But, instead of hitting the girl's head, the knife hit a spot higher than her head, just high enough for Ryan to reach. And reach he did, as he grabbed the knife out of the now dungeon wall, and press the tip of it onto Harmony's chin. _

"_**I've been away for so long so long  
I've been away for so long so long  
I let you go for so long**_

_The girl felt a cold trickle run down her spin as the tip of the blade made her skin fall away and bleed. It wasn't much blood, just a thimble's worth. But it was enough for the girl to know that Ryan was going to try and kill her. _

"_**It's a nice day to start again come on  
It's a nice day for a white wedding  
It's a nice day to start again.**_

_For a moment, Ryan morphed into Ariel, with blue eyes that were furious and raging like the sea itself as her slender fingers gripped the knife tightly. But it was only for a moment, as a second later Ryan became himself again, a cruel, evil, horrible grin on his features. The girl moved her body, with her arms still in chains above her head, to the left a little, away from the blade. Only, when she moved, the blade moved with her, still pressed under her chin. _

"_**There is nothin' fair in this world  
There is nothin' safe in this world  
And there's nothin' sure in this world  
And there's nothin' pure in this world  
Look for something left in this world**_

_It was a bitter, horrible tone Ryan used, his voice like nails on a chalkboard. The girl winced, her tears coming more freely now as she knew she was going to die any time. Why had he come back to kill her? She hadn't meant to hurt him. She hadn't known. _

"_**Start again**_

_The words were whispered, just a soft noise from Ryan's lips. For a moment, Harmony thought it was all over, that he was going to let her go now…but he only turned and gripped the knife harder than ever, taking it away from Harmony's chin, and slowly, bringing it down. As a last ditch effort, the girl managed to kick the boy with both her feet, making him stumble back, and his grip on the knife falling. _

"_**Come on  
It's a nice day for a white wedding  
It's a nice day to start again.  
It's a nice day to start again.  
It's a nice day to start again."**_

"_So be it." It was his final words to her the first time, and this time was different. No matter how much the girl tried, history repeated itself as she saw the blade fall into his heart. His mouth formed a perfect 'O' and blood poured out from his open wound. The girl, in her terror, screamed. But no matter how many times she tried, she could not still escape the chains. Her heart pumped in fear as the walls started to whisper. _

_Monster, Freak, Dead, Monster, Freak, Dead, Monster, Freak, Dead, Monster, Freak, Dead…_

_The walls chanted their words over and over again as they slowly started to cave in on her. The body of her brother lay on the floor, destroyed, bloody, and horrific to see. And she'd caused it. The walls were coming in faster now, she didn't have enough time! She couldn't run, her breathing was so fast, her arms were still in chains, she couldn't escape, the blood was all over, she was being suffocated, she couldn't move, the blood, the terror, the walls—_

"Harmony!" A frantic voice and continual shaking made Harmony bolt upright, deathly pale and clutching the sheets of her bed. Wait. _Bed._ She wasn't in a dungeon. There was no blood. She was okay. At least, for now. "Baby, are you alright?!" Ariel's tone reached Harmony's ears, as she turned her head to see the concerned faces of her family—minus Melody, plus Coral, who'd worked it out with her mother and was sleeping in Shireland tonight.

"Harm, are you alright?" Eric's gentle voice said, placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. His touch made her flinch horribly, as the girl looked around at her family and tried not to let it loose.

"Ho-How…?" Harmony's voice cracked, as she wondered how her family had heard her. Had she been screaming again? Well…after that nightmare, she should have been. The girl shuddered just thinking about it.

"I heard you from my room….so I told Aunt Ariel and Uncle Eric." Coral explained, as her Aunt Ariel shot the girl a thankful look for waking her up, and then turned back her attention to her oldest daughter. Cupping her almost childlike face in her hands, Ariel gave the girl a gentle expression.

"Are you alright, my little tune?" Ariel asked softly, still in her nightgown with her robe half fastened around her, with the same applying to Eric. Coral had just ditched her robe all together.

"No." Harmony whispered, before falling into a fit of tears. Ariel allowed it, as she held onto the girl and murmured gently until she was fast asleep from all the exhaustion. As the Mother and Father tucked their child back into bed—their almost eighteen year old, going-to-be-married-tomorrow child—they wondered about two things.

First, what was Harmony's nightmare? And second, how could she live with John if she kept having these nightmares?

* * *

**The song in Harmony's nightmare is 'White Wedding' by Billy Idol. I would spend more time here explaining stuff in my author's notes, but I've got to review all your stories so...pip pip cheerio ya'll! (How random was the ya'll?!)**


	66. Happy Tears of A State Champ

"_Huh, huh_." Kathy breathed in a steady rhythm. Her heart pounded as she pushed back loose tendrils of her red hair. She stared hard at the goalie, who in turn gave the girl a fierce expression. Her fist balled up, and then let loose. Her palms were beginning to sweat from fear. If she made this, she could win states for her team. They'd be Nebraska's top high school team; them, all small town girls. The game was being played in a huge stadium, something that none of them had ever seen before, except on TV. during football nights. Fans from all over were rooting for the two teams, as everyone craned their necks to stare at the red head that could make it, or break it all.

_"Huh, huh." _Ariel breathed in a steady rhythm. Her eyes traveled to the clock on board the wedding barge, as she sighed and pushed back her red hair in frustration. Where was Harmony? The girl should have been here by now, getting ready for her wedding. She'd said the soccer game would only last about an hour. It was going on two and a half hours now. Her eyes then traveled to the gorgeous strapless white wedding dress Harmony had to wear in less than an hour. Would the girl even be able to wear it, or would she miss her own wedding? The red head sighed again, her eyes worriedly going back to the clock with fearful eyes; this could either make it, or break it all.

_"Huh, huh." _Kathy breathed in steady rhythm still. Her heart was pumping at a million miles per hour. Her friends held their breath on the sideline and on the field, hoping that this would be their championship. The girl only hoped this would be her defining moment, the moment that set her apart from everything else. This would be whether she'd come back to high school after spring break with a trophy on her shoulder, or a head hung in remorse for what she could have done. The girl swallowed once in anticipation, before looking up at the referee, and nodding to him that she was ready. The referee looked at the goalie, who grinned and nodded too. The girl stepped back a few steps, curved herself at an angle, and when she heard the whistle, she started to run towards the ball.

_"Huh, Huh." _Ariel breathed in steady rhythm still. Her heart pumped faster and faster as she stared at the clock and found that another minute had passed. Where was her daughter? Did the girl not want to be married? Would she leave John at the altar? What was she doing? The worst thing was that Ariel had no way of contacting her. At all. She'd been waiting for the day for three years when her daughter would toss her a silly little string bracelet she'd made and say 'this will take you anywhere I am, just in case something happens to me in Nebraska'. The day still hadn't come. The woman had talked to her husband about it, yes, but he'd just shrugged and said that Harmony would give it to the woman when she was ready. She sighed and looked at the clock again. Only a minute had passed.

_"Huh, Huh." _Kathy breathed in a panting rhythm now. Her foot miraculously connected with the ball, as she saw the ball shooting in the corner right of the goal. Crap. Manny had told her specifically not to kick in that corner. She was a lefty, it would be easier to sink it in on the left side. But the girl's mind hadn't realized that until after she was watching the ball fly through the air. She stopped as she saw the goalie lunge for the ball, jumping up high and making her hands just skin the bottom of the ball. And then, the ball was in. A whistle rang out, the goalie fell, and all of a sudden, people started to scream.

"Num-ber 9, Num-ber 9…" A chant went out from the crowd as they roared in approval. Kathy stood stock still, staring at the ball with wide eyes, as all around her she could hear the screams of her teammates of 'we won, we won'!

"I did it." Kathy whispered, in the mist of all the cheering and screaming. News reporters swarmed in, their camera crews focusing on the cheering team. "I did it!" Kathy cried in glee, whooping and running around like a maniac in her happiness. She'd done it. She won states. She'd lead her team to win states. "WOO-HOO!!" The girl screeched out, grabbing Emma by the arm as both girl's screamed and spun around in circles together. Suddenly though, Emma was gone. She was replaced by a giant wave of purple liquid falling over her. Gatorade. Of course.

"_Huh, Huh._" Ariel breathed in a panting rhythm now. Five entire minutes had passes since she'd first started to try and breathe calmly. For every second of every minute Ariel stared at the clock, hoping to stop time, find a way to get her daughter, and make sure the girl was alright. Harmony wouldn't be late to her own wedding. No, worse yet, she wouldn't show up in her dirty soccer clothes at the altar….would she? Oh Poseidon! Just the thought of it made Ariel's cheeks heat up in embarrassment for her daughter's actions!

"Mom!" It was an excited voice that made all three women in the room, and a certain baby, snap their heads in the direction of the voice. Harmony stood, filthy as ever and drenched in a grape smelling purple liquid, but she had the biggest smile on her face that there ever was. A gold medal hung around her neck, with the image of a soccer ball and the words 'Girls Soccer State Champions'. "We won! I did it! I scored the penalty shot! Oh man, you should have seen it! I sunk it right into the right corner! Can you believe it?! The _right_ corner! And I'm a leftie! And the goalie was all like, trying to get it, but she couldn't, and then I was like, woaa, did I just make it?! And in the stands they were chanting my number and cheering and-and-and—" Harmony cut off abruptly as she realized one teeny tiny little fact. Tears were rolling down her face

Happy tears.

"Good job sweetheart." Ariel said in praise, a bit of pride in her voice. Though she wasn't one for sports, and she'd rather, at times, have Harmony stay in the palace and be on time for things, it definitely made the sacrifice of her daughter going to her other world worth it, if she came back like this. Ariel had never seen the girl so…_happy_. It was like someone had told her that there was an endless supply of books that she could read and read until time ended in one place! And, besides that, Ariel was proud that her daughter had managed something that she'd thought only a day before was impossible. During one of those last minute fittings for her dress, Harmony had sighed aloud as she said that she really wished her team had a chance against the other top team in…er…Nebraska. And now look. The girl had won. Her team had won, because of her.

"You made a right kick with your left foot? That's…actually pretty impressive." Margaret whistled in her approval. She was a righty, but she knew that trying to go the opposite direction of your dominant hand was hard. Extremely hard. But here Harmony was, with tears in her eyes that she'd done it.

"Awesome Harm." Melody said, smiling at her sister who grinned in her happy tears back. Brendon, who'd managed to hoist himself upwards in his bassinet giggled at Harmony, clapping his little hands in his own approval.

"Y-You're proud of me?" Harmony stuttered for a moment, at a loss for words as she heard her mother's tone. Pride? Parental pride at that….wow. When was the last time she had a parent, her _own_ parent, being proud of her? Definitely not as a child…except for a few rare occasions…and with Ariel and Eric she was at a constant battle of annoying them for them to be proud. And now…this tone Ariel was using…she was proud?!

"More than you'll ever know honey." Ariel said, smiling a wide, encouraging smile to her daughter who managed to grin back in response. "I'd hug you sweetheart, but…" Ariel sheepishly explained, instead squeezing her daughter's hand. As long as Harmony was this happy, the woman didn't care about anything. As long as Harmony was this happy, Ariel was happy.

"Yeah. They kind of splashed Gatorade—er, a grape flavored sports drink on me." Harmony explained sheepishly, trying to hold be the tears that still stung her eyes. She'd won. She'd won states. Ariel was proud of her. John loved her and was going to marry her. It was like, finally, all her past crappy life was gone, and instead, just a new beginning in its place. Starting with this win, Harmony thought firmly to herself. Starting with this new win, everything was going to be different. In a good way, of course. And the girl couldn't be more thrilled about that.

"Come on; you need a bath." Margaret said with a laugh, pushing her future daughter in law behind the screen and quickly, with Ariel's help, stripping the girl of her dirty clothes. For once, Harmony didn't moan and groan as she was scrubbed down to her very last red hair. She was too happy about her new life ahead of her, how everything would be better, how winning states was like, a sign that things would be better now.

* * *

**SHE WON! YES! GO HARMONY! YAY! **


	67. The Letter

"You should get changed into your dress." Ariel said, grimacing a little as she looked at the time. Fifteen minutes to go. Harmony was sprawled out on the floor with Emma and Melody, flipping through the old pages of her eighth grade striped journal, wearing her jeans, as always, and a cute, quick throw on shirt that said 'fish are friends, _**not**_ food' with the image of Bruce, the ferocious great white shark, staring down two tiny little fish. At first, Ariel had laughed upon seeing the shirt. Now she was more anxious than anything to get Harmony into her dress.

"Mom, relax. I've got like, fifteen minutes. I'll get dressed in five." Harmony said, flipping through yet another page of the striped journal with a smile. Emma had found the journal somewhere in Harmony's palace bedroom, and had decided to show the girl how far she'd come from an eighth grade dreamer to a twelfth grade doer.

"Ohmygod, there's you with short hair! I barely remember you with your hair short!" Emma said, screeching it out at the top of her lungs as she pointed to an old picture of Harmony from the sixth grade, with zombie eyes at the camera and hair that only reached up to her collar bone in short, choppy waves.

"Why is your hair so short?" Melody wondered, as Harmony shook her head and laughed, flipping the next page. One day she'd really have to explain to her family that not all girls in their family liked long hair…wait a tic. What's that?

"I wonder what this is…" Harmony said, her fingers probing the strange envelope that was pressed in the crease of the journal. Taking the envelope within her fingers, Harmony quickly took it out of the crease, looking at the front of it with squinty eyes, before reaching for her glasses. On the front of the letter, was written one word, in a handwriting that immediately made Harmony's face pale horribly.

"Ryan." That wasn't the name written on the envelope, no, it was the handwriting of the person. Harmony would know his handwriting anywhere in the world. Absolutely anywhere. Five people, including baby Brendon, froze at the name, staring at Harmony with wide eyes. With shaky fingers, the girl ripped open the envelope, took out the handwritten letter that was inside, and started to read aloud in a whispered voice.

_"Dear Kat,_

_No, that sounds gay. Let me say that again. Dear stupid little sister. Yeah, that sounds better. Okay, let's go with that._

_So, if you haven't noticed it already (which since it's you I wouldn't put past) it's Ryan who's writing this note. Yeah, you know, you're stupid older brother than you hate etc, etc. So…I think I kind of owe you an explanation, or at least that's what Claire, you know, my girlfriend, said I should do. So I am._

_The last time I saw you, you were screaming…and I was hurting like fuck. If you remember, the last thing you remember me doing is stabbing myself. Actually, on paper, that sounds pretty cool. In real life, it hurts like hell. But whatever, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that…I didn't actually mean what I said._

_You know when I tell you something, and you totally believe me like the gullible idiot you can be? Yeah, well that's what happened. I mean, I didn't actually 'fall in love' with you. You seemed really down about Mom and Dad's divorce…so I wanted to make you feel better when you came back home from that stupid party you had in that other weird world of yours. I only had the knife with me to pretend to stab myself when I knew you'd say no, because dating me would be like, incest, and plus your ugly. No offense, that's just how I see you 'cuz you're my little sister. Anyway, long story short, I was supposed to drive the knife into my armpit, so it looked like I'd stabbed my heart, when I actually didn't. But…I got so caught up thinking about how much fun it was going to be to blackmail you, that I wasn't paying attention. And I stabbed my heart._

_I'm going to die soon Kat. They don't say it out loud, but I know that's what they all think in this hospital when they look at me. I'm sorry for, as they put it, 'attempted suicide' in front of you. I'm really sorry that Mom and Dad blamed you—I might be hooked up to a million machines here, but I can still tell them off for kicking you out. But maybe…maybe it'll be good if you stay in your other world. I mean, crap, Mom and Dad have never been all that great towards you anyway. You have a chance for a real, better life Kat; don't let it go to waste._

_Anyway, I'm also really sorry that I won't be able to undig the time capsule we buried last year with you in three years. I'm sorry that I'm never going to tell Claire how I feel about her. I mean…Kat…I think I love her. I'm sorry that I won't ever go to prom. I'm sorry that I won't graduate. I'm sorry that I won't be able to fight with you anymore. I'm sorry that I won't be able to drive you to school every morning—no matter how annoying you are. But forget what I'm sorry for not doing._

_Just, for me Kat, focus on the future. Please, for the both of us, try and have a life with your real family. I know it's tough, and you don't like them that much, but their nice to you and everyone makes mistakes._

_Always remember that even though I'll be buried in the ground by the time you read this letter, I can still kick your sorry ass from the grave. No, seriously, I can. I'll become like a ghost and freaking haunt you for going into my room, or touching my stuff. You left the journal in your room and Claire got it for me in case you were wondering. Okay, that was random, but still._

_…._

_That's all I have to say I guess. Wave to me from hell when you get there little sister!_

_The coolest person you will ever know, even though he's dead but still amazingly awesome,_

_Ryan_

_P.S. If you touch my guitar I swear to god I will haunt you until you die._

_P.P.S. Try not to trip as much without someone filming it…:D Kat!_

Peace out, Ryan (again).

Harmony sat stalk still for a moment, not uttering a word…before she disappeared into thin air.

* * *

**Holy Shiznit! **

**...**

**I'm shocked. **


	68. Running and Whiskey

Harmony ran.

Not the type of running you'd expect of a princess, no, this was the type of running you'd expect of a teenage girl, blinded by heart and sacrifice. Her sobs meant little to her brain, as she finally collapsed on her knees inside the Goblin Forest, as she and Ryan had dubbed it so many years ago. Her tears made it almost impossible for her to see, but she knew that she had to go and retrieve it. After all, it was past time. And besides…Ryan would've wanted this.

Ryan. Just twenty minutes before, the name had been nothing more than a past memory to her as she was about to embark on her new life. Yeah, the girl thought bitterly, new life of pain. Who was she thinking, that she'd have a good life if she was married? Her past would always haunt her. The image of her brother stabbing himself would forever be implemented into her mind.

He'd said he didn't mean it. He said he hadn't meant to. It was possible that he'd get distracted; he _did _have ADD. But still. That didn't make the fact that he was gone any less painful. That didn't help her knowing that she'd never see him again. If only when she'd seen the knife she'd screamed! So what if her parent's hadn't been exactly all the way sober—they would have done something. No. Instead, she'd let him fool around; play his cruel joke that had haunted her every nightmare for years now.

Jackass.

How could he leave her? How many times had she told him that she didn't like it when he played those kinds of jokes on her? And when he kissed her? Had that just been part of his act too? He hadn't specified, probably because Claire had been in the room. But, she wouldn't put it past him. He'd done a few drama plays just for fun, he'd been good at detaching his emotions and making himself evolve into a character he hadn't been.

But still.

Still she mourned his lost. Still she grieved like a freaking widow. Still she wished he was there. Still, she wondered how her life would be different with him. They'd both been victims of child abuse, but they'd taken it in silence, vowing never to leave each other. Surely if they told anyone they'd be separated. And at the time, the girl hadn't thought anything worse could happen than that.

Stupid girl.

She shouldn't have been so gullible. She shouldn't have believed him. She shouldn't have been a stupid child. She should have prepared for one of his practical jokes against her. She should have known he'd try anything just to screw with her brain. She should have known. But she hadn't. And that's why, she was digging.

Her fingers served as her shovel, and her face lined with a cold sweat as her fingers hit something. A metal box. It was rusted a little, but it was just how the girl remembered it. They'd saved up thirty bucks for this stupid box. Thirty bucks of working their butts off, and for what? A single one of them surviving till now, to uncover it? That just sucked ass.

Her fingers traced the familiar box, marveling at how she remembered this and that about it. How she remembered using a blue sharpie to start to color it, until her brother had argued that that was just weird and it wouldn't last. How she remembered writing the words on the front of the box, in big graffiti letters so that in four years, she'd know that's how cool she could write. In four years…

She'd been a child of fourteen when she buried it. It was the summer in between eighth and ninth grade, and the girl had been more than excited to find out what would happen in her upcoming school year. High School. At one point in time, the words had been like voo doo to her, something that she only dreamed of. She had been blissfully unaware that her small town girl life was about to change drastically only two weeks into her new school year.

The girl didn't know when lyrics formed at her lips, but she whisper sang them all the same, clutching the time capsule to her chest.

"_Sometimes I walk alone at night  
When everybody else is sleeping  
I think of him and then I'm wondering  
With the company I'm keeping  
And I can live inside my head  
_  
_Pretending he's beside me  
All alone  
I walk with him 'til morning  
Without him, I close my eyes and see his smirk  
And now I've lost my way, and I can't seem to let go of the dream he's back__  
_

_And I know it's only in my mind  
That I'm talking to myself and not to him  
And although I know that he is dead  
He'll still laugh and smirk when I fall_

_But when the night is over  
He is gone  
Without him, the world around me changes  
The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full not to trust strangers_

_Every day I'm lonely  
All my life I've only been pretending  
Without me, his world could have gone on turning  
The world is full of happiness that I have never known_

Harmony's shoulders shook as she tried to keep back the sobs that threatened to escape from her throat. Grabbing the time capsule, the girl did the only thing she knew how to do at the moment.

She ran.

She didn't know where. But it soon became clear as she found herself stopping, and staring up at the large tree. On it, was a box shaped thing, made out of different wood. It had fallen into disrepair over the years of no children using it; but the girl still climbed up the rope ladder she remembered help making. Once inside, she looked around the old tree house, remembering how much fun it was to build, and how he'd kept one specific thing up here, 'so nothing happens to us tonight'.

The girl pushed open the lid of an old toy chest she remembered help lugging up the rope ladder. Inside, was a variety of game pieces, board games that were just tossed inside without any care about cleaning up, and one thing in particular that Harmony grabbed for, and quickly unscrewed the top, before taking the longest swig of life from the bittersweet liquid.

She was drinking Whiskey.

* * *

**Okay, so the song is 'On My Own' From the play 'Les Miserables'. I own nothing. Actually, it's a funny story about that play. As a kid and playing violin, I used to go to Symphony classes on sunday's. Ultimately, that's what made me hate the violin and all classical music, but that's another story for another time. Anyway, I remember this one peice we did, it was from the play 'Les Miserables'. I must have been like ten, and I always wondered about that play. This wasn't the song we did though. Sadly, I have no recollection of the song we did, only that it was by 'Les Miserables' which had struck me odd because (at the time) i'd thought of broadway as nothing more than something in New York City that was famous. **

**Anyway, whew! Can you believe I wrote that entire chapter in about an hour? I was going to go straight to the next chapter, but I decided against it and instead wrote this one first, so you guys lucked out! Though, I do feel bad for Harmony...*sniffle***


	69. Finding Out About Her Past

"Why would she just…disappear and leave me at the altar?!" John's perplexed voice laced with concern asked again, the same question he'd been asking since the wedding had been called off and he'd learned that literally, he'd been left at the altar. Everyone in the room gave heavy sighs, shaking their heads as if they couldn't bear to think of it.

"The life she's been trying so hard at…just…shattered. I mean…you should have seen her face. It was like, plain _horrible_ to see." Emma said, fiddling with the empty belt loop on her jeans nervously.

"But what happened?" John pressed, trying to find out more information. Emma sighed, a hurt sigh at that, resting her head against the cool glass of the window inside of the palace, in a private, 'family only' sitting room.

"Hush Jonathan." Margaret said, rather distractedly as she grimaced at the thought that, right about now, she would have been celebrating her son and Harmony's new marriage. Instead of celebrating though, she was praying that the girl was alright and would come back. "I can't imagine what kind of horrors she's going through right now." Margaret sighed, shaking her head.

"It just…tipped the scale. I mean…I never thought he'd write a…a letter." Melody whispered, her eyes open and wide as she thought of it. When she'd been in Harmony's body, she felt the longing inside of the girl to see her brother again. To touch him, tell him she was sorry. To hug him though he'd push her away. To have enough courage to go to her old home and look through his room for some type of clue.

"No one thought he would."Ariel sighed; resting her head on her husband's shoulder as the days past events sped past her mind in a rush. First, after about ten minutes of Emma frantically searching Nebraska and not finding anything, with only five minutes till Harmony would walk down the aisle, the wedding had been called off. That in itself was a great embarrassment for the Queen who'd spent so much time planning it, and then having it all go to waste. Then, as Emma went back to Nebraska a second time to try and find Harmony, the royal families had quickly, and silently, departed from the ship, still in their best clothes and had come to the private, sound proof and gossip proof sitting room. That was over four hours ago.

"I feel so…_bad_. I mean, she almost had a good life, for once…" Coral said, hugging her knees more tightly to her chest as she let her fingers trace the pattern on her chair. It was true though. Harmony had just gotten her life back on track; everything had seemed to be going in the right direction, finally…and now this.

"And you have no clue where she might be?" Eric asked Emma hopefully, a brief grimace going across his face as the girl sighed and shook her head, shoulders slumping even lower. For once, as Ariel saw this she felt a twinge of…sadness, for Emma. The girl could be blissfully unaware that this was happening right now, and instead, she could be back in Nebraska clubbing and having fun. But she wasn't. The inverse was true. Harmony had told her friend all about her life…perhaps, maybe to release some of her burden. But as far as Ariel could tell, it didn't. It just made Emma feel worse for the girl, and herself at having to go through all this because of her.

"I checked every damn place in Amherst. Miller's Pond, the graveyard, her room, the elementary, middle, and high school, the playground, the bookstore…nothing. It's like she's vanished without a trace." Emma sighed, pushing back her blonde hair in her frustration.

She loved her best friend to pieces; hell, when her parents had been getting a divorce back in the summer of ninth grade, and she'd called her best friend in tears because of the news, Harmony had rode her bike through a rainstorm, with only a yellow raincoat on just to sneak into Emma's room, and hand the girl some comfort food. She'd done all that and spent the night hugging Emma as the girl cried. That took some guts, seeing as how the next day Harmony called Emma and said she couldn't hang out because she'd gotten grounded for sneaking out the night before. 'Grounded' as Emma now knew was Harmony's way of saying she'd gotten beat. She'd gotten beat, just so she could make Emma happy again. And now, the girl was determined to return the favor.

"But…was the letter really that bad, to make her vanish?" Leroy questioned a fatherly concern in his voice for Harmony. What could he say? The girl had grown on him.

"It's not that the letter was bad Father. It's just that…well; I think it's kind of like pouring salt into an open wound. Harmony's wound was her brother, and the letter was, ironically enough, the salt." Lance said, offering up a theory as to why Harmony would just vanish after reading that letter. By now, everyone had at least looked over it—everyone but John—and was trying to keep it all together until Harmony came back.

"Wait, wait, wait, and wait!" John cried, finally fed up at all this conversation going on and none of it making any sense at all to him. "What letter, who's this 'he', and what does it have to do with Harmony just 'vanishing'?" The boy asked, his frustration finally showing through. Frustration at Harmony for leaving him at the altar. Frustration at his family for not telling him. Frustration that he knew that Harmony was most likely hurting right now and he couldn't do a damn well thing about it.

"'He' is Kat's older brother, Ryan. When we were in the dressing room…she was flipping through the old striped journal from when she was fourteen…looking at pictures and laughing…and then this letter fell out…and it was from Ryan...that he wrote when he was dying. Well, technically he only wrote a quarter of it because his handwriting stops after the first couple of sentences, and I think it was because he got too weak so his girlfriend started to write it for him. And well, you know why Ryan's a horrible subject for her." Emma said with a sigh, finally taking her hair tie and wrapping around the back of her blond hair so that it would stay out of her face.

"Because he died on the same day as the Valentine's Day ball." John clarified, but was only met with puzzled expressions and confusion written all over everyone's faces. "What?" The boy wondered, as his family stared at him as though he'd grown an extra eye.

"It wasn't that he died after that Valentine's Day ball…it was because…he stabbed himself in front of her. And then when she came back here…and she was locked in jail…" Coral's soft voice was the only one to break the tense silence in the room, causing John to do a double take and any color Ariel's face had to immediately be lost, as she buried her face into her husband's shoulder.

"WHAT?!" John practically screeched in his confusion, frustration, and down right not understanding. Harmony was locked in a dungeon? But…when? Why? Suddenly his memory started to become crisp clear as he remembered Harmony mentioning something to him when she was fourteen on that cool October night about 'the dungeon sucking ass and being really depressing'.

"Didn't she tell you about any of this?!" Lance wondered, knowing full well that his brother would probably say no. Why would Harmony keep something like that a secret from the man she was about to marry?

"No. Never. She just said her brother died that valentine's day…and she missed him a lot. I didn't want her to feel anymore hurt than she already seemed to be." John said, sucking in a breath as his mind processed the information.

"Christ, you were going to marry her and she didn't tell you?!" Emma wondered, her brown eyes staring into those of John's who shook his head warily, wondering if what Coral had said earlier was fact or fiction. It had to be fiction. No parent would ever be so heinous as to hurt their own child like that…

"What happened?" The boy pressed for information, desperate to know what happened.

"Yeah Ice Queen. What. Happened." Emma said through clenched teeth, staring at Ariel with hatred. It's not that she hated Ariel personally at the moment; it's just that she hated what the woman had done to her best friend and sister from another mister.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were locked onto Ariel and Eric—mostly Ariel. And even slower, the woman murmured something too soft for anyone but her husband to hear, before sighing even more hurtfully, and starting from the very, very, very, very beginning.

When Harmony had first come back.

* * *

**Well, now John knows...I wonder how he'll take it? :P Review to find out!**


	70. Everyone's Thoughts

"You bitch!" John finally exploded, not being able to keep his calm. His mother put a restraining hand on his shoulder; he shook it off after a second. Ariel sighed, tears in her blue eyes as Eric's somber arms were around her. "How could you do that to her?!"

"Do you think I _wanted_ to Jonathan?! Hm?! Do you think I _like_ knowing that my daughter is in pain, and it's _**my entire fault**_?! Do you think I _like_ knowing that Harmony will never be able to lead a happy, healthy, normal life because of _me_?! Do you think if I had some way of traveling into the past, that I would erase all that I've done to Harmony, and just start off fresh and make things better?! Well, damnit, I can't very well do that, and even if I could I wouldn't because I'd know that all I'd do is just make my daughter's life more miserable." Ariel said, her voice rising up to a screech in fury…before backing off with a heavy sigh, and swallowing what was not going to be her tears.

"That's it. I'm going to go back and try to find her again." Emma sighed, pushing back her blonde hair as she decided enough was enough and she needed to find her sister, not just wait around for the girl to conveniently decide to show up. Tugging on her bracelet, the girl re-started her search for Harmony again.

For the next hour, Emma searched everywhere in the town, while a stony, tense silence had fallen upon the royal families. Emma wondered hopefully that she'd find her sister. Honestly, this was her sister from another mister! No, she'd find her….somewhere, somehow.

Meanwhile, back in the palace, thoughts were roaming in everyone's heads. Ariel was desperate for any news of her daughter. She had almost convinced herself successfully that Harmony was gone forever now, and the thought made her hide herself in Eric's arms like a child.

Eric kissed the top of his wife's head, as he held her without complaint in his own arms. Where was Harmony? Was she in pain? Was she cutting herself? She should be home, with her family…actually, now would have been around the time that she'd been heading with John to her room for their first night together. As horrible as that was, Eric wished it was happening instead of this. At least then he'd know his daughter was safe, and at a moment's notice he could protect her.

Coral was slumped in her seat, dozing in and out of sleep as she waited in hope that Harmony would come back. She hoped that at any minute, a hyper funny teenager would come running into the sitting room shouting at the top of her lungs. That's what she hoped for. That's what she knew would never happen though.

Melody rested her eyes for a moment, her head on Lance's shoulder. She mentally went over the list of fights she and Harmony had had over the past three years. The girl wondered if that was the kind of fights Ryan and Harmony used to have. Just two siblings going at it for no apparent reason. Gawd, Melody would trade anything right now just to have her sister back home safe.

Lance went mentally over everything that he knew about Harmony. She'd grown up in a parallel world, and then over the course of her fourteenth year watched as all that she ever knew faded away. But, not all of it was her parents fault. The girl could be a little less sarcastic and bitter…and not blame everything on her parents…

Margaret also rested her head on her husband's shoulder, thinking everything through. Yes, Harmony was a sweet girl at times, and yes, she liked the girl…at times…but the woman didn't think she could take anymore of this. Skipping out on her own wedding because of a letter? A good ruler knows how to make everything look alright even when their terribly wrong. But then again, Harmony was never going to be a good ruler. The people of Shireland, if somehow they agreed to letting her rule, would watch in horror as she abandoned her kingdom more than once because of her past interfering with her present. It was idiotic that the girl would do something like this; Margaret would have to remind herself later to make sure that Jonathan absolutely wanted _this_ girl. There were plenty other girl's for him to choose. Hell, even _Coral_ would be a nice match, and she was a mermaid.

Leroy looked up at the clock, and gave a silent sigh to himself. Where was that girl anyway? And how could she just…_leave _her own wedding? She was to be wed, and she left his son at the altar, looking like a fool and blushing in embarrassment as he knew that his fiancée had runaway. How could the girl do that? No, she didn't just make Jonathan look bad; she made the entire kingdom of _Westland _look bad, for skipping out of her wedding and making a fool out of their prince. Jonathan should have a girl that was, well, not so out of the ordinary. Not some princess who couldn't even acknowledge her own title. Or name. Or birth date.

John sighed again, for the millionth time, seated in a secluded part of the room. He felt…betrayed by Harmony for leaving him at the altar and not telling him about her past. But at the same time, he was…more understanding about her now, and why she wanted to keep it a secret. He knew how she thought. She didn't want to give him nightmares. She wanted to protect him from her horrible past so that, even if she had to go through it, it didn't mean that he'd have to hear about it and feel bad. The boy shook every time he thought of Harmony being just lost all together, and with him here not doing a damn thing to help. When she came back, he wanted to talk to her. He wanted to hold her, tell her he understood now. Tell her that he loved her no matter what, and her past and her mistakes wouldn't affect his feelings towards her. She was his love, his life…his Harmony. Without her, the world held no meaning. John looked back up at the clock, fully awake and nervously playing with a string on his formal soldier suit, which was black, with red accents and gold shoulder blades with fringes hanging down from them. He could only hope that Harmony was alright.

Oh god, did he hope so.

* * *

**It's always good to see what the family is thinking...please review! **


	71. Hysterical Princess, NonExistent Parents

"Harmony!" Coral, though falling in and out of sleep, was the first to spot her cousin. Instantly, all heads popped back up from their almost slumber's, groggily looking at the clock at realizing it was near one in the morning.

Harmony looked around with wild eyes, her hands holding a slightly rusted tin box. Her nails were completely gone; all that was left was a bloody reminder of what they used to be, with dirt covering them too. Her face looked gaunt; her body looked like it was unable to support itself any longer. If someone leaned closer, they could smell the whiskey in her breath; but no one did.

Before anyone had a chance to get up, John had jumped up from his chair, and ran towards Harmony. He stopped at an inch from her face, his expression as blank as hers as to what to do now. Did he tell her he understood? Did he say a word about the wedding she'd left him at the altar at? Did he kiss her and tell her he loved her without reason? What should he…_could_ he do now? The question was answered when a sob broke loose from the girl, and she fell against John, her knees quivering too much to hold her up any longer. Surprised, John still held onto Harmony, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed hysterically into his suit. Gently, he managed to pry away the box from her hands, making her sob harder and her noise level reaching…well, high.

"Let me take her." Ariel said softly, and quickly, as John, with a heavy heart, handed the sobbing girl off to her mother. Ariel remembered the last time Harmony had cried so hard; she'd just watched her brother stab himself. But this time she wouldn't do anything wrong. This time she was going to be a mother to her daughter, and damn anyone if they got in her way or said she couldn't do it.

"Shh my darling. It's alright, I've got you. It's alright sweetie." Ariel murmured, as Harmony sobbed even harder and more hysterically at that, though the woman had no clue as to why. She'd thought that Harmony would be a least a little less guilty knowing that it wasn't her fault her brother had died. She'd thought wrong. Harmony was in just as much pain and suffering.

"Found her at the old tree house we built." Emma said softly, cracking her knuckles and looking down at her muddy rain boots. It'd been raining all week at odd times, and the forest was just a muddy mess.

"We?" Lance wondered, wincing as he heard Harmony's sobs reach a high, cracking note.

"The neighborhood kids. Ryan and Kat helped, with everyone else, build it. They used it the most though, out of any of us." Emma explained softly, leaning her head tiredly against the door post as she watched her friend with sad, tired eyes. She just wanted to go to her own bed, in her own room, and fall fast asleep for the next twenty-four hours. This was not how she planned to spend the first day of her spring break. Her _senior_ spring break, to be exact.

"You should go home. Your mother and father must be worried about you by now." Margaret said in a gentle tone, a more or less polite way of ordering the girl to go to sleep and thanking her at the same time for bringing Harmony back. At least they knew the girl wasn't dead or anything horrible like that.

"Mom's a workaholic, she always works late shift's so she never sees us. Dad's out of town with his whore girlfriend, and even if was back in town, he wouldn't give a damn that I was past curfew." Emma said with a shrug, her words startling everyone but Eric, Ariel, Coral, and Melody. Eric and Ariel were trying to soothe their daughter's hysterics so they didn't pay attention. Coral and Melody already knew.

"So…it's basically like your parents are…" Leroy put together a slow forming picture in his mind as he thought of it. Here was an eighteen year old girl, pretty and she was coming home back at one in the morning. If she'd been Leroy's daughter—or son—he wouldn't have stood for it and grounded the child on the spot. But…Emma's parents didn't seem to do that. Of course, he'd realized by now that the girl's parents must be either separated or…divorced…but…

"Non-existent in my life." Emma finished a half shrug on her shoulders. Really, you don't miss what you've never had. She never had a mother who stayed at home as she was a workaholic all the time, which had lead ultimately to their father getting a divorce as he claimed that there wasn't anything else he could do. That had frustrated the girl to no end. If they just tried talking maybe they wouldn't have divorced! But…she digressed.

"But…don't you have a little brother who's blind? And a fourteen year old sister? Don't your parents at least…raise them?" Lance wondered, an elbow going to his ribs painfully as his wife made it clear that that was something he shouldn't be talking about.

"We go over to Dad's on the weekends—the weekends he's actually there and not with his whore girlfriend. It's supposed to be Mom who has primary custody of us...but she always works, so it's more like I try to raise my brother and sister and keep them in line." The girl sad with another shrug, looking back at Harmony with a sorry expression, before looking at the Westland royals. "This chat has been nice and all, but I'm going to going home now. See ya probably tomorrow." Emma said, closing the conversation. Ariel heard this, and for a moment, when she looked over at Emma, she silently mouthed 'thank you'. The girl hated Ariel and Ariel hated her right back…but the mother would always be indebted to her for what she'd done for Harmony. The blonde nodded, before tugging on her bracelet and disappearing.

"We should all get to bed. It's been a long day." Melody's soft voice suggested, as John was looking at Harmony and having his shoulders slump. Her cries of pain made his heart feel terrible.

"We should." The adults confirmed. For once, there was no pleasant exchange of night time 'goodnight's'. Instead, it was awkward for a moment, no one really knowing what to say, before Ariel shepherded a hysterically sobbing teenager to her room, and everyone else following her example by silently departing from the room.

After all…today was bad…tomorrow would be worse.

* * *

**WHOA! Four chapters in one night! You guys must really take me for granted, don't you? Well, anywho, please review this chapter like all the other ones!**


	72. A Princess and a Possible Breakup

Harmony woke up from a deep, painful, nightmarish slumber. She blinked once, looking all over her room as she saw twilight streaming through the windows lazily. Twilight, in this case meaning the time before dawn arrives, but when it's not dark any longer. Her stomach growled angrily for something to eat. The girl ignored it, as she shuddered, shook her head, and slowly pushed the covers off of her so she could get out of bed.

Pouring some cool water onto her hands, the girl splashed it across her face, while looking into the mirror to survey the night before damage. Her eyes were bloodshot, her expression a scary kind of blank. Her mouth filled with bile as she thought about how much whiskey she'd consumed the night before, and she shuddered again as she thought of where she'd _been_ the night before.

Pressing her fingers to the mirror, the girl studied herself with sad, depressed eyes. Where had the happy go lucky teen gone? Where had the thirteen year old her with a bright smile and an eager attitude gone? Had she really changed so much, in four years? Shaking her head, the girl resolved to find out soon enough, but unlocking the time capsule.

Walking back into her room, with her nightgown sashaying across her legs, the girl couldn't help but think about the humiliation she must have brought down upon John. But…what could she have done? Ryan…he'd been just fooling around…at her expense, and it'd cost him his life! He was her brother, the boy she'd always thought had everything under control, even when things seemed like he didn't. Well, the girl thought bitterly, he was a selfish bastard…that she would always love as though he was her blood brother.

As quickly as thoughts of Ryan had filled her mind, Harmony pushed them out, willing herself not to cry. Tomorrow, she'd send a letter to John. She'd attach the engagement ring he'd given her in the letter, and tell him that it would be better suited for another girl, one that would never humiliate him the way she'd done. Tomorrow, she'd wake up during the day, and walk downstairs to see her family eating breakfast. There, she'd be the person they'd always wanted her to be.

She was done with it. She was done causing herself and others unneeded pain and suffering. She was done running off in the middle of the night after a fight with her mother. She was done taking those stupid little pills every morning and night; from now on, if she had nightmares and woke up screaming, she'd make sure to scream and cry into her pillow.

Sure, her life would be miserable. Sure, every night she'd return to her room, heartbroken and sobbing softly. Sure, the only person who would ever comfort her would be her ratty stuffed animal.

But that didn't matter what she felt like. As long as her family was happy, as long as the kingdom was happy, as long as no one knew of her pain, Harmony would be alright. She'd caused scandal after scandal, she knew. In high school, girls like that would be called 'needy' and 'high maintenance' or even 'not worth it'. That's also what the court thought of her. She'd be miserable for as long as she lived at her wasted dreams and efforts…but for once, she'd cause no one else pain. Or humiliation. Or unhappiness. Or worry.

From now on…she'd be a Princess.

Walking almost silently through the halls, unnoticed by all as she kept her head down, and converse walking forward, Harmony remembered how many memories this brought back. She remembered being that little girl in sixth grade, walking up those huge steps to middle school. She remembered trying so hard to find her way, and nothing turning out right. She remembered all of that. But she knew she had to move on from it. There was no more time for the past now, no, only the present and future.

To get to the one place where she knew her troubles would not be watched or gossiped about, Harmony had to pass by the guest wing of the palace. The girl's walking slowed to an almost stop as she looked down the hallway that the royal family of Westland should be staying in. Were they even still here? Last night she'd been in too much pain to notice.

Curiosity won the girl over, as she walked, on silent feet, down the hall. It was still just about seven thirty or so; not time for anyone to sleep, but to at least retire to their own rooms. Maybe they'd left, Harmony's mind thought, a pang of heartbreak cracking at her heart. Maybe they were gone…wait? Did she hear a…a noise?

Cracking one of the doors just open enough so her eye could see, Harmony found herself having a pumping heart as she saw Jonathan sitting on a chair, with his brother, mother, and father all talking in low voices to him. If Harmony was a normal girl, she would have sighed in disappointment because the voices were too low to hear. Thankfully, for once, the girl was a witch. Adjusting the air current a little bit with just her fingers, Harmony could finally hear the conversation streaming into her left ear.

"…not normal. There are plenty of eligible girl's throughout the Kingdom Jonathan." It seemed to be Margaret's voice pointing this out to her son, as Harmony's brows furrowed. What were they talking about…oh. Her. Ouch.

"And besides, she's never going to be a ruler or anything." Lance pointed out another note to his brother, checking behind him in his paranoid state. He kept thinking Melody was going to walk in and tell them all off for talking about her sister in such a way.

"What are you saying?" John's dark voice demanded of his family, sitting across from them all in a dark green chair. He swore, if they were saying what he thought they were saying…

"Break off your engagement with Harmony." Margaret's clear voice had no trouble spelling it out for her son, as he flinched audibly as though someone had just slapped him across the face and told him something horrible.

"Look son, we know you mean well in loving her…but you're eighteen. Keep your options open, for now. What about her cousin? That…er…Coral girl? She seems like a nice, normal bride." Leroy said, pointing out that Coral was available, and of marrying age seeing as how she was sixteen.

"I gave Harmony a ring." John finally said, even darker than before. A ring didn't just mean a 'ring'. It was a promise, a swear that even when things were terrible, he'd still love her like she was the only girl in all of the world.

"Let her keep it." Margaret said dismissively. "Tell the girl it's a nice bauble, a souvenir even, for her to keep. The point is that she embarrassed the entire kingdom of Westland by running off like that. And if she's so prone to running off, imagine how she'd be as a wife! Or worse, a mother! No, you have to break off the engagement immediately. Tomorrow morning we leave; tell her in the morning. The girl's been through worse; she'll get over it." Margaret said dismissively again, fiddling with her own wedding ring as a tiny pang of guilt reached her.

"It's for the best, little brother." Lance said, in that I'm-older-so-you-have-to-listen-to-me voice that drove all younger siblings—including Harmony who'd once been a younger sibling—to the brink of killing their older sibling right then and there.

"And besides, she'd just be a burden to always take care of as a wife…." Leroy said, almost apologetically to his son who stared at him with humorless brown eyes and a firmly set jaw. Harmony had enough of this though. Almost blindly, the girl ran from her place at the door, before somehow making it to the library, closing the doors behind her, and collapsing in a fit of tears on her favorite spot that was partially hidden, and on the floor.

So much for not crying anymore.

* * *

**What should Harmony do? Should she be a Princess from now on, or should she just be her? Should John break up with her, or not? Will John start dating Coral? Will Harmony kill John? Will I be able to ever meet Zac Efron?! Well, you be the judge of that!**


	73. You'll Be in My Heart

A frustrated sigh let loose from John's lips. His family wanted him to dump Harmony as though she was nothing more than just another run of the mill girl. Thing was though, he loved her. Or had they forgotten about that? He couldn't just tell her that he was breaking off their engagement; he'd weep like a baby for days if he had to break her heart like that. His family just didn't understand. She was the best thing that had happened to him since....well, forever.

Sighing again, he pushed open the doors to the library, to maybe drown his sorrows away in stories. Only…what was that noise? It almost sounded…like…like like…almost…sobbing? It was muffled, but John's sharp ears could hear it with a slight frown.

Following the noise with his ears, he found a sight that left every bone in his body aching in pain. Harmony had hidden her face into her knees, sobbing softly as John knew that tears were probably rolling down her face. In whispered, hiccupping breaths, her could hear her say 'Oh Poppy.' And hug her stuffed animal with one arm, almost as though the thing could talk.

"Once a-a-again…it-it's just me-me and you bud-buddy." Harmony whisper sobbed, her hiccupping breaths coming faster as so did her sobs. What did she mean by that, John wondered. Hadn't the girl seen her parent's yet? By now they must have realized she was awake, and tried to soothe her tears. "J-J-John'll le-leave me to-to-tomorrow morning…he-he'll da-date Coral…and-and-and marry her…and whi-while Ari-Ariel and Er-Eric cel-celebrate…and Coral and-and John ar-are happy…I'll be lef-left al-alone…ju-just the for-forgotten gir-girl. At-at le-least I-I have you though Poppy." Harmony whispered, horrifying Jonathan to no extreme.

She hugged her old bear tightly with one arm…a bit too tightly for the old stuffed animal. Its head dislocated from the body, rolling on the floor at John's feet. Harmony took one look at her now missing-head-stuffed-animal, before letting out a horrible wail of pain and sobbing even harder. John couldn't take it anymore; her sobs were _killing_ him. Quickly picking up the head of Harmony's headless stuffed animal, in one stride he reached her.

"Harmony?" John asked softly, lifting up her chin with his hand. The girl's tearful, bloodshot, gaunt looking eyes widened upon seeing him, as she immediately wiped off her tears with the back of her nightgown sleeve—she hadn't bothered to change—and looking up at him with a face of a fallen angel.

"O-Oh!" The girl whispered; in her shock that John was here right now, with her, in the library…stop it, she told her mind firmly. John deserved a girl who would be a nice wife, someone who wouldn't be so flighty and unreasonable. Someone who was normal. Harmony couldn't bear to take away that from him; she'd done some awful things, but she'd never take away his chance at happiness. "I-I'm sorry ab-about yesterday. I-I em-embarrassed you and-and your fam-family. Y-you shoul-shouldn't was-waste your ti-time on me. I-I'm just…ju-just a freak. Go-go dat-date or court or wh-whatever Coral; she-she's nice." Harmony stuttered out, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment as tears pulled at her eyes at just saying that. It stung. It gnawed. It stabbed. It was the only way.

"Harmony…." John said, speechless. How did she know about what his family had said?! Oh god…did her parents know?! Did her sister know?! More importantly, did she actually believe it?!

"Ri-right, right. Y-your ri-ring." Harmony said, painfully sliding the form fitting ring off of her finger and extending it towards John. "I-I re-release you fr-from your promise. Go-go out and fin-find someone else. They-they deserve thi-this more tha-than me." Harmony said, choking back her sobs of pain.

"Harmony…" John was at a loss for words right now. Harmony was masking her pain with a bravado that looked so…awful that John could see right through it. She hated herself for doing this, he realized. But, at the same time, she thought it was the only way. "Did you ever read the engraving I had put on your ring?" John asked softly, as Harmony looked up at him with those shockingly huge, electric blue eyes that were filled with untold pain and suffering.

The girl slowly shook her head left to right, her gaze falling back onto her fingers as she heard John's voice. Tears were pooling at her eyes again now…crap, they were falling down her face.

"You'll be in my heart, that's what I had engraved into this ring." John said softly, as Harmony couldn't take it anymore. A sob escaped her throat as she jumped up, ready to run for it, but John was quicker, blocking her escape.

"L-Let me-me go!" The girl commanded, trying with all her weak might to get past Jonathan. He didn't let her though, as he stood blocking her way. The girl gave a cry of anger as she finally just pounded her fists against him, angry, sad, hurt, confused…all into one. John just stood there, letting her pound her fist's against his chest, before she collapsed in a fit of tears against him. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her up, wishing she wasn't so hurt. She held onto him tightly, as he wrapped his hand around hers, and she squeezed it hard. That's when John's soft voice surrounded her.

"_Come stop your crying  
It will be all right  
Just take my hand Hold it tight_

I will protect you  
from all around you  
I will be here  
Don't you cry."

John's soft voice was suddenly like a security blanket for Harmony, as she held onto it and wished it would never leave her. It was the only thing keeping her together right now. John put a finger under her chin, lifting it up so that she could see the sincere-ness in his brown eyes.

_For one so small,  
you seem so strong  
My arms will hold you,  
keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us  
Can't be broken  
I will be here  
Don't you cry_

'Cause you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be here in my heart, always

With tear stained, still bloodshot, and scared beyond belief eyes, Harmony looked up at her fiancée, her nose sniffling and her heart aching as she heard the words. Could it be true, or just another hoax? It must be true, the girl's mind said. It had to be; he still loved her. But…his family?

"_Why can't they understand  
the way we feel?" _

Harmony asked softly, burying her head into John's chest in pain and in euphoria. John gave a thin, humorless smile, before cupping Harmony's heart shaped face in his hands.

"_They just don't trust  
what they can't explain  
I know we're different but,  
deep inside us  
We're not that different at all_

And you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more."

John traced to lines of Harmony's face, wiping away her tears with his fingers. The girl neither flinched nor sighed at this; instead, she fell into his embrace, looking up at him with those eyes.

"But your family…" Harmony whispered, as John gave another thin, humorless smile, and shook his head at her.

_  
"Don't listen to them  
'Cause what do they know  
We need each other,  
to have, to hold  
They'll see in time  
I know."_

"But…but what about…you know. My past?" Harmony whispered softly, flinching at just the mere mention of the thing that ultimately led her to hating her life. John shook his head at her, closing her lips with his finger.

_  
"When destiny calls you  
You __must__ be strong  
I may not be with you  
But you've got to hold on  
They'll see in time  
I know  
We'll show them together_

_'Cause you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
I'll be there from this day on,  
Now and forever more_

_Ooh, you'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be in my heart, always  
Always."_

"Harmony, Je t'aime." John said softly, capturing Harmony's lips in a kiss to prove his point. Harmony felt like…like a whole bag full of jumbled emotions. For one, she was confused. At the same time, she was sad. At the same time, she was excited. At the same time, she was embarrassed. What did she say now? What did she tell him after that? The girl searched for something in her mind…before finding it.

"Te amo." Harmony whispered, as they broke apart their kiss.

* * *

**How sweet! BUt, will it last? I'm sorry, but I cried during the writing of this chapter! :D I'm such a sucker for romance. **

**Prize to the first person who figures out the song name, author, and what disney movie it first premiered in. Remember, say what song name, author, and disney movie it premiered in in your review! **

**Extra contest, in case you lose the first: What other disney movie (in the recent 2000's) has this author written a song for? What was the name of the song? Remember, say what you think it is in your review!**


	74. Follow Your Heart

"What are you going to do tomorrow? Your family is leaving." Harmony whispered with a heavy heart, resting her head against John's muscle-y chest and closing her eyes as she just thought of it. Her eyes were still puffy from crying, and she knew tomorrow she'd need a crap load of make up to fix all that…if she even went out of her room tomorrow.

"I heard Melody talking to Lance about staying for a few extra days; maybe I can convince my parents, and yours, to let me stay and be here with you until the wedding." John murmured into Harmony's ear. A bitter laugh arose from Harmony as she pushed away from John and looked sullenly out the window.

"Wedding? Your mother hates me John. Your father is like her little puppet; she pulls his strings, he dances and does what she asks. And your brother is a momma's boy; if she told him to divorce Melody; he'd do it in a heartbeat because his mother said so. Your entire family wants me gone from your life…how on earth can we be in each other's lives, let alone marry?" Harmony asked with bitterness, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared longingly out the window, and at the storm.

"Than we'll runaway together. You and me Harmony; we'll go where they can never find us!" John declared, wrapping his arms around Harmony's waist as she sighed, still staring out the window with her arms crossed over her chest. Shaking her head, she turned back to John with her throat closing up.

"I've been running all my life. I don't want to have to do it again, and again, and again. For once, I'd like to just spread my roots in one place and not constantly be uprooted violently by some major event. I guess it's true what Fyodor Dostoevskionce said, 'love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams.'" Harmony said softly, pulling away from John and shaking her head. Her throat hurt from the tears she wouldn't cry.

"Harmony, don't even say that. You know how much I love you—in real life—and how I dream of just being with your everyday." John said, pulling the girl into a romantic kiss to prove his point…before he was interrupted.

"Princess, are you in here—oh! I'm sorry!" Lacie, one of the newer maids that Harmony had yet to really talk to, blushed a shade of crimson as she saw John and Harmony kissing. "I-I didn't mean to in-interrupt, your high-highnesses." Lacie stuttered out, feeling a bit flushed at just the thought of walking in on the Princess and her fiancée kissing.

"No. It's alright. John was just leaving." Harmony looked pointedly down at his hands on her waste, and inching further down by the second. He grinned a devilish grin at her for that, before leaving her with a peck on the cheek and a few whispered words in her ear.

The boy gave a nod to the young maid, who in turned blushed an even brighter shade of red and curtsied quickly. And then there was one. Harmony had moved closer to the fire in the library, taking a stick and stroking it with blank eyes. Her mouth was, for once, silent.

"Your highness, you should get back to your chambers. The Queen was nearly in tears when I last saw her. She and the King are worried about you." Lacie said, feeling a bit awkward standing in the library door way, of the great and only Harmony. She'd heard stories about this girl's bravery, and stories about how…well, her parents hadn't been the nicest to her at times. Still, Harmony was something of a legend, a character right out of a story book—or fan fiction website.

"Enough of the 'princess' and 'your highness'. Just call me by my first name; I don't think I'll ever adapt to being called by my title." Harmony said irritably, making Lacie blush even further.

"Of course, you're high—er, _Harmony_." The name rolled off of Lacie's tongue strangely, as the girl tried to wrap her head around things. Harmony gave a sigh, finally giving up on stroking the fire as she looked out the window at the rain shower. After a moment, feeling awkward just standing uselessly in the library with the Princess. "You really should see the King and Queen now." Lacie said, gulping in awkwardness. Harmony either didn't see the awkwardness, or didn't care, as she let her shoulders sag as she looked at the maid with a thin smile.

"What do you think I should do? The Kingdom thinks I'm a freak, the royal family from Westland thinks I'm a freak...and still John wants to get married. If I can survive just one day at a time, it'll be a miracle, but marriage? It's impossible. It's even more impossible since I ruined our actual wedding day, by leaving him at the altar, and now his mother, father, and even brother want me out of his life. Marriage is just not a possiblitly." Harmony was mostly speaking to herself now, her gaze averted from Lacie, before her eyes switched back up to the maid. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand." Harmony said with a thin, humorless smile, absently playing with her nightgown sleeves.

"Princess, excuse me from saying this, but I think your overlooking the most important detail out of all of this." Lacie said, eyeing the Princess to see if the girl was angered or anything by her words. Thankfully, she wasn't.

"What's the most important detail?" Harmony wondered, not really understanding.

"What does your heart want? To be married to the man you love, or to live out the rest of your life as a miserable spinster?" Lacie asked her voice quiet in the room towards the Princess. Harmony stopped for a moment, her brows furrowing as she looked down at her bare feet, thinking hard, before shaking her head and sighing.

"It's just not that easy. There's a million things to factor in, his family for one, my family, my life…" Harmony argued back tiredly, shaking her head as she thought of it. Love wasn't black and white. It was a hard game that only the tough survived.

"It is that easy Princess. All you have to do is stop thinking so hard, and follow your heart." Lacie said, before stealing a glance at the clock. Almost eight! "I have to leave Princess. But, I suggest you listen to my words, and at least put your parent's frayed nerves at ease." Lacie suggested, before turning and heading for her room, leaving behind a Harmony who just felt like she'd gotten a Doctor Phil lecture.

* * *

**Poor Harmony. I wonder what she'll choose? Well, to find out, you can always review!**


	75. Parent's Talking Alone

"I-I checked every where Eric. She-she's no-not here." Ariel's voice was cracking, as she felt hot tears start to fall down her face. She'd checked every place in the palace, from top to bottom, asked anyone if they'd seen her, but nothing. The library was empty, along with the girl's room, and every other hideaway place Harmony might have gone to. And now, with a hurt/confused/sad/mad/depressed/possibly suicidal teenager on the loose, Ariel was nearly in tears, hoping Harmony hadn't done something.

"She couldn't have gone far Ariel." Eric's voice tried to soothe his wife, who in turned clutched at him as though her life depended on it. "I'll send out a search party and—"

"Don't bother. I'm right here." A quiet, tired voice said out loud. Harmony was leaning against the door post to the study, heavily as she was exhausted and just wanted to get back to bed. Talking to John had worn her out, and talking to that stupid philosophy maid had made things even more muddled up and worse in the girl's mind.

"Harmony!" Came the shout from both parents' lips, as both of them ran towards the girl, nearly knocking her down to her rear, and hugging her tightly. Relieved sighs could be heard from both parents as they hugged their older daughter, who just stood there awkwardly, because, as you know, Harmony wasn't the biggest hugging fan.

"Oh honey. I was so scared." Ariel whispered, hugging her daughter as now tears of relief fell down her face. "I-I thought that you had…that you had…oh thank Poseidon your _safe!" _Ariel's voice said, hugging Harmony so tightly that the girl felt the lack of oxygen really starting to get to her lungs.

"Harmony, you have no idea how relieved we are." Eric's voice was a testament to the fact that he was relieved. He had thought Harmony had runaway, like she had so many times before…but no; instead, she must have just hidden herself away in a corner of the palace. Thankfully, Eric's mind mused.

"Sit, my little tune." Ariel said finally, brushing off her tears with the back of her hand in an un-queenly manner as she forced Harmony to sit on one of the comfortable couches in the study, before moving the girl so that her head rested on Ariel's lap. "Do you want to talk about…what happened yesterday?" Ariel's soft voice asked, as she stroked her daughter's red hair, and stole a look at the drawer that was, for now, holding the girl's rusted box that she'd had in her fingers yesterday.

"You-You promise not to get…mad?" Harmony whispered her voice small and weak, which was exactly what she felt like right now. Her bare feet were spread across her father's lap, as her head rested in her mother's lap, making the girl feel like a seven year old, instead of seventeen year old. Still, she was frightened that a repeat of the past would happen if she told her parents.

"We promise." Eric's gentle voice asked, concern laced into it. What had his daughter done the night before? What was she hiding from him? What was she going to say now?

Slowly sitting up, with Ariel's arms around her of course, Harmony let what happened spill out from her lips, all the way up to being in the library with John. Of course, she edited a few parts, like where she heard that the royal family of Westland hated her (she said she'd overheard it from servants) or when that weird maid girl had talked to her. Other than that, the girl was as truthful as she could be, making her parents silently take it all in.

Ariel let a controlled breath come out through her teeth, as her fingers tightened around the couch cushion in anger. Not at Harmony, no, at the people who'd said such horrible things about her. The poor girl was confused, scared, unknowing of the path ahead of her, and they weren't making things any easier!

"That's….that's a lot to take in." Eric finally said, letting a low whistle escape from his lips. Harmony drinking whiskey, digging a time capsule up with her bare hands, being alone—in her nightgown—in the library with John, people talking about her, the girl wanting him to stay here, in Shireland, until the next wedding. Would there even _be_ another wedding, Eric wondered, pushing back his black hair.

"Harmony, honey, go upstairs and take a bath, and then get to sleep. Your father and I…we need to talk. Alone." Ariel finally said, avoiding her daughter's gaze as the woman sighed and shook her head. A bit hurt by this, Harmony nodded, sniffling back her tears, and practically running upstairs to her room. Her tears would come later.

"What on earth is whiskey?" Ariel finally asked, sighing as she leaned against her husband—heavily, as she tried to get her bearings in all of this. Everything in her mind was just a blur…a blur of fast moving things just going off.

"It's a drink. It's…really strong." Eric explained, as best he could, which wasn't all that great. Ariel still nodded though, sighing as she dipped her head backwards so that she was looking up at her husband with those blue eyes that had always captivated him.

"What are we going to _do_?! She's…she's drinking, she skipped her own wedding, she wants John to stay here until another wedding—which I don't even _know_ if I can plan out all over again—Eric…I just have no idea what to do with her anymore. Do I ground her, or do I comfort her? Do I tell her it was wrong, or accept it and never mention it again? What do I—what do _we_ do?" The woman asked her husband, who in turn shook his head and sighed.

"I just don't know Ariel. I just don't know." Eric said, shaking his black head of hair before giving another heavy sigh. Harmony had skipped out of her own wedding. The thing that had taken _months_ to prepare—not to mention all the money that had been spent on it—was all gone. Down the drain. Nothing left but a shattered girl, her horrible memories, and a royal family that was angry at the moment, two lost parents, and a fiancée who would follow Harmony anywhere — which may just be the problem.

* * *

**What will happen next? REview and you'll know!**


	76. Demands Must be Met or a Vegas Wedding

"John dear, are you ready to leave?" Margaret's voice called into her son's room…but only being answered with no reply. With a roll of her eyes at the boy's attitude at leaving, Margaret pushed open his door…and was surprised to find that he wasn't there.

With a frown, the mother walked into his room suspiciously, finding something very off about this. His room was neatly in place, everything fine looking within it, but Margaret knew her son was up to something. Narrowing her eyes as she found a neat note pressed on top of the dresser, the woman quickly picked it up to scan it with her eyes.

Be back around three or so.

J.

Margaret was a patient woman. She could understand things, and she wasn't angered easily. But right now, right now as she clenched the note in her fist, she swore the next time she saw her son she was going to murder him.

Ariel quietly crept into her daughter's room, hoping to find the girl asleep so she could spend a few quiet moments with the child she'd created, before waking the girl up and trying to soothe her tears. Both parents had finally come to an agreement last night on what to do with Harmony. They were going to talk to her about everything, and try their very hardest to understand. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was much better than hurting her.

But…there was no body on the light blue sheets that Harmony had specifically chosen in her room. There was no teenager either crying, looking into space, or acting as though everything was totally normal, as she talked on the phone and at the same time, painted her toenails a bright blue color. In short, there was no Harmony. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Ariel immediately went up to the girl's bed, finding a gently placed note there.

Be back (with John) around 3. See ya then

:D (turn the page sideways to understand what it means Mom)

Kath—Harmony.

Ariel could usually blow up when she was stressed enough. But, taking a calming breath, a few of them actually, the women looked out her daughter's window. Alright. She'd give Harmony until three when she sent out search parties.

It was hours later, at true to the note's word, at three that Harmony and John showed back up. The scene they arrived in was one of…anger, tension, and a bit of frustration.

"Harmony Althea Benson you have exactly two seconds to explain where you've been or I _will _ground you until you die." Eric's eyes blazed at his daughter, and John's hands on her waist—and inching lower ever so slowly by the second.

"Jonathan Daniel Manelin you better have a good explanation for running off when we were supposed to be leaving." Margaret growled through clenched teeth, not liking at all the way Jonathan was staring amusingly at her.

"*Snort* your middle name is Daniel." Harmony tried to suppress her giggles, not trying to tip off how funny that was. If you rearranged his letters, you could make D.J.! How funny would that be?!

"You're not much better. Your middle name is _Althea_." Jonathan shot back with a grin, to which Harmony immediately lost her own mocking grin at and gave him a roll of her eyes in response.

"Enough joking around. I want to know where you've been Harmony. And that's not a request." Ariel's sharp voice said to her daughter, who immediately straightened up at her mother's words. She knew it was now or never.

"Actually...Mom…" Harmony said, nervously playing with the end of her red hair. "Okay, we wanted to talk to you guys." Harmony finally blurted out, making all the adults—not including Melody—raise their brows.

"Jonathan, what is this about?" Leroy asked his son, his eyes boring holes into his skull. John took in a deep breath, trying to make sure he didn't sound like a little boy anymore…but that he sounded like a man.

"I'm going to marry Harmony. Like it or not, we are going to get married." John finally said aloud, liking those words…but not the expression on his families face. That didn't look good, the boy thought with a slight grimace.

"How exactly?" Lance wondered, thinking his brother a fool. Who would want a girl so…full of weirdness? A witch? A freak. A weirdo. Someone who would never be allowed in normal life.

"There's a city in my world called Las Vegas. Basically, anything can happen there, including five minute weddings. Really, it's simple. I sign a paper, John signs a paper, badda bing, badda boom, we're married. No ceremony, no dressing up, nadda. Just…simplicity. We're totally prepared to go through with this…unless our demands are met." Harmony finally said, breathing in and out through her mouth like they'd taught her in speech class. Harmony + speech equaled disaster.

"Demands? And what exactly are these…_demands_?" Ariel asked, locking her jaw in the process. She knew very well Harmony would go through with her threat, which made the woman even more frustrated.

"For one, we don't want to be separated any more. Either he stays in Shireland, or I stay in Westland but we're not going to be saying goodbye again." Harmony said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Two, we want to get married on exactly May 31. That's when I graduate from High School. So it'll be like, the end of a beginning." Harmony explained clearly. "Three, I'm going to go to Princeton—one of the best colleges in the country—and continue working until I decide I don't want to."

"Four, _I'm_ going to go to school with Harmony. I want to see her life—both of them. Oh, and I'm also taking her to prom, which in her world is sort of like a ball—but even bigger because everyone has been waiting for it since they were children. " John said, making Harmony give a gasp of shock and look up at her fiancée with shocked eyes.

"I—but—insane!" Harmony gasped out. "Who told you about Prom?! I was going to ditch it! Who told you about going to school with me?!" The girl protested immensely, her mouth open in shock.

"Emma told me. She also wanted me to leave you this message, after I said I was taking you to prom. Her exact words were: Haha, this is what you get for not telling me who gave you that wicked awesome hickey last year." John said, grinning from ear to ear at Harmony who blushed immensely. "I'm going to go to high school with you. And you can't change my mind. Or leave me behind because I'll find some way to go." John said, grinning as Harmony and him both knew that Emma would take him to high school if Harmony didn't want him to go.

"Remind me to kill her later." Harmony muttered under her breath, before looking back up at her family. "Anyway, and our last demand is that please, just leave us _alone _in the library." Harmony begged, hoping her parent's would find the last request reasonable. "If our demands aren't made…we're _so _going to go to Vegas sign a few papers, and be married. Emma said she'd drive us there." Thank God for Harmony's cell phone having service when she was in that huge tree at the end of town.

"Over my dead body are you going to just 'sign' a paper." Ariel finally erupted, her voice that angry calm she was so good at. "I will not miss you wearing a wedding dress and walking that aisle Harmony. I swear if you take that from me I will _kill _you." Ariel threatened, before having her shoulders sag in defeat. "Having said that though, I think you're…_terms_…are reasonable. What do you think my love?" Ariel asked her husband, knowing for sure she was going to have to go to the doctor soon and get some pain medication. Her head was already killing her from dealing with Harmony.

"The library doors have to be open when the both of you are inside of it—and you sleep in your _own _rooms at night." Eric warned, making sure the young couple knew that if they fell asleep with each other again they'd be dead. "And Harmony, you have to keep a B+ average in school, if you want all this to happen."

"The library doors will be half closed, and B- average." Harmony argued, feeling strangely like she was on The Price is Right.

"Three quarters open and B average." Eric's voice rang out firmly, making Harmony know that she'd been beat in this.

"Fine." The girl sulked, crossing her arms over her chest in a bit of anger.

"Father? Mother? Idiotic big brother?" John couldn't resist the jab at his brother; it was too easy. Lance scowled at him for a moment, but his scowl was quickly taken off when Brendon giggled at clutching Melody's pinky finger.

"I don't like it…but it seems I have no choice in it." Margaret sighed, shaking her blonde hair of head. "I want a letter from you everyday Jonathan, do you understand? Every day. And if you're going to be staying in Shireland one mistake from you—and that includes hurting the poor dear in anyway—I swear I will hurt you. Leroy, what do you think?" Well, it was good to know that Margaret was back on Harmony's side, the girl silently cheered. It wasn't like Margaret had a choice though. She couldn't choose who her son loved. Only he could. And no matter how much she wanted to change it, she couldn't, so she'd have to focus just trying to make the best of it.

"As long as he abides by the rules, than I see nothing wrong with it." The king clarified, giving his son a severe warning expression, as though saying 'don't mess any of this up Jonathan'.

"I think Brendon has something to say about this." Melody laughed, as her baby boy kept making sounds and reaching for her earrings. Letting Harmony hold him for a moment, the mother watched closely as her twin smirked at the baby, who in turn cocked his head to the side, wondering who this person who looked so much like his mama was.

"You got something to say about my demands B?" Harmony laughed, as the baby, deeming her alright, laughed too. Handing the baby back to his mother, who warily watched as he squirmed in her arms.

"Do you think we can do it? Plan a wedding in a month?" Ariel asked Margaret anxiously, clasping her hands in her own as the women immediately started to think about it, making their children grimace.

"No, we can plan an even better wedding in a month!" Margaret declared, as both her an Ariel started talking a mile a minute about the 'new and improved wedding' Harmony and John would have.

John squeezed Harmony's hand then, and the girl knew why. Tonight, she'd promised him that with him by her side for support, she'd go through her time capsule. She was scared to say the least, but knew it had to be done. Sooner or later. The girl gulped once, scared, but she knew with John by her side, she could do it. Hopefully.

* * *

**Good chapter? I think so! Pleas review!  
**

**Also, i posted a Beauty and teh Beast fanfiction story. Check it out please and review! I hope you all like it!**


	77. A Time Capsule DVD Part: 1

The only sounds inside the locked doors of the unknown abyss—aka, a very private family only sitting room—were of Harmony's ragged breathing as she tried to put the combination in and undo the padlock on the time capsule. Her mother next to her had her hand gently on her daughter's shoulder—in case something happened, just so Harmony knew she was here for her. Emma sat on the floor, staring at the time capsule with a slight grimace. Coral worriedly played with a string on her dress, sitting on the armrest of the couch and peeking over Harmony's shoulder. John sat next to Emma, worriedly staring at his fiancée. He would have been on the other side of Harmony, had it not been for Eric kicking him off the couch and taking his place beside Harmony. Fathers would always be fathers.

CLICK! Harmony undid the lock with shaking fingers, moving it down so that the time capsule—however rusty it may be—was open. Taking the lid in between her fingers, and gulping at what she might find, Harmony opened the groaning lid of the old tin box.

Inside, there was an array of things. A DVD put inside of a c.d. case, two class pictures (one of Harmony back in the eighth grade, and the other of a non-smiling Ryan in tenth grade), an old baseball glove that had the word 'Ryan' written on the side of it, a guitar pick, an old science test with the name 'Kathy' written on it, with the letter grade A+ circled, a soccer ball keychain, and finally, a small note, written by Kathy as an eighth grader to watch the DVD.

With still shaking fingers, Harmony opened the c.d. case, and slowly took out the DVD from the inside of it. Her laptop was already opened, so all Harmony had to do was insert the DVD inside of it. Almost a immediately, a low humming sound came from the DVD as the monitor slowly turned black…and then a face appeared on it.

The face on the monitor was of a younger looking Harmony—or rather, Kathy. Her bright red hair was in choppy waves, only just brushing her shoulder blades. Ariel's grip on Harmony's shoulder became almost death like as she saw the child on the screen—the child she'd created…but never got to see like this. The girl sat on what appeared to be the floor, yawning into what was probably the camera as she adjusted it out of reach for a moment, before looking straight back at it.

"So…hi." Kathy's voice rang out, tiredly. "Today is…um…oh yeah! Today is August 24…I'm obviously Kathy…and this is for the time capsule Ryan said we'll bury at the end of the year. I don't know if he's actually going to do it, but I know I am. I want to see how I'll be in four years. I mean, will I be all like, weird, or will I be so amazingly cool that people will adore me?" The girl on the screen giggled tiredly then. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see." More normal giggles erupted from the girl, as she turned her body in the light a little, exposing an array of bruises lining her arms…and the rest of her bare skin. "So anyway, I would be more hyper…but I'm just so exhausted from working. I have two paper routes. I have to wake up every morning at 4:30, be out of this house by 5, and then go to Main Street to pick up my route papers to deliver by 6:30. Then I come back home, change really quickly, and barely manage to ride the bus to school. But I don't care. I'm saving up for this really cute dress. I saw it in the window of one of those high end stores in the city. It costs, like 530 bucks! I know, it's a lot of money, but it'll be worth it once I can show up to the eighth grade formal at the end of the year in the best dress _ever_." The girl giggled again, shaking out her red hair in the process.

"Oh yeah, this is how my room looks like now!" Kathy's voice said quickly, standing up with a tired grin and taking the camera in her hands, before slowly revolving it around the small room. It was tiny—compared to castle standards it was closet size—but the girl had filled every inch of it with posters, drawings, places, people, dirt, clothes—everything imaginable! Slowly the girl ended the video, promising to come back the next week and talk more—if she wasn't so tired.

As the weeks wore on through the video in rapid succession, it became once a month that the girl talked to the camera. She explained everything about her life. From the cute boy named Lucas that had just moved to town, and she had a huge crush on, to the way her brother teased her about 'being a stupid ginger'. She explained how she and her friend Matt were having a bet that the girl would have to grow out her hair—not cutting it at all—until the beginning of ninth grade. Once or twice, she even made a dry joke about her parents being drunk and having beaten her the night before. The thirteen year old soon turned fourteen, and the video found her crying, alone in her room and wondering why no one in her family had even told her happy birthday. The video saw how the girl drew out her ideal birthday cake, and made a shaky wish on the sketch of a cake with fourteen candles. The video saw how Kathy's favorite color was hot pink, how she loved to get dressed up at the rare occasion, and how math homework made her dizzy. How she loved those old time Disney movies, but hated cherry medicine. How she wanted revenge against her brother for telling her to stop acting so immature, how she wanted so badly to fit in with the popular crowd. How she thought sometimes she was destined for something greater than just this silly little life. How she loved her friends for always being there, but hated how they teased her about her non-existen chest. Through pain and sacrifice, the video went through an entire year of the life of a thirteen/fourteen year old girl who lived, loved, and laughed. And then finally, the video made it to the end of the school year, hours before the eighth grade formal.


	78. A Time Capsule DVD Part: 2

"So I curled my hair for the formal—I burned myself twice using Em's curling iron. But still, I think I look good. Don't you? Here, let me show the future me how sexy I look in this dress!" The girl said with a laugh, standing up quickly—a bit awkwardly on the heels she'd borrowed for the occasion—and twirling around in her dress.

Ariel's breath caught in her throat, as tears burned her eyes—well, more tears to be exact. She'd felt the sensation of tears throughout the entire….whatever this was, of seeing her daughter grow right before her eyes, and the woman having nothing to do with it. But as Harmony—Kathy, whatever her name was as long as she was Ariel's daughter, the woman finally let her tears flow free. The girl looked _beautiful_. So what if the dress was very, very short, or if the girl was wearing a pair of fish net tights underneath. The girl still looked ravishing, her makeup making her pretty features stand out even more, her carefree childish laughs…how the dress the girl had worked so hard for was finally there, with her, the dress she'd slaved most mornings trying to earn money to buy. Ariel could never have been more proud.

"You know what? When I looked into the mirror…okay, don't laugh or anything but…I felt like a _princess_." The girl giggled, her voice dropping low as a small blush worked onto her cheeks. "Isn't that so…stupid? I mean, I don't think they let soccer players be princesses, but still. Omg! I think I have a tiara somewhere! Just wait one minute!" Kathy's childish laughs sounded, as she ran across her room and started throwing things out of her closet.

Emma watched in fascination as time was rewinded, and before her, on the screen, was her best friend back in the eighth grade. John stared at the screen, his features breaking out into a smile as he saw the girl he loved as a fourteen year old child just…act, for once, like her age. Coral hugged her knees to her chest, watching with compassion in her eyes for she knew how it was to be that age, how life was black and white. Eric had his arm draped across Harmony, wondering if there'd ever been a more…perfect child he could have created. Though his heart ached every time the girl used the words 'Dad' in a sentence, and he knew she wasn't talking about him…for once, he felt a deep, a very deep respect for Harmony as she went through her teen year. Ariel let her tears fall free, sniffling every now and then as she saw how much the girl grew in only a year…and how she'd missed all of it. And Harmony? Well…Harmony sat on the couch, reliving each memory. She knew what was going to happen now, and she yearned to tell the girl, the carefree happy go lucky girl in the video to run. To fly meone, to please, please, please, just be careful. But the girl didn't listen.

"I dub me, Princess Kathy of…America! Thank you, thank you!" The girl in the video waved to her adoring subjects—though they were imaginary. A plastic crown meant for three year olds was placed on top of her red, as she smiled a huge smile, laughing and hugging herself as she pretended to be a princess. Then her door slammed open.

The camera fell the ground after that, but it still recorded. There was yelling. Drunken yelling's and accusations rang out. Though the camera could only capture feet, it was enough for the family to know that those were the parents Kathy had so talked about. The girl cried. Things smashed. Screams of pain arose from the girl's throat, as suddenly she was pushed to the floor, her face scraping against the glass from her now broken lamp. She stared at the camera for a moment, just a moment, pain, torture, helplessness, hopelessness all in her young features as she started to crawl…but the sound of something smashing and screams of a male and female voice stopped the girl, who only made it far enough to shut off the camera. The last thing that was heard before the camera shut off? A loud crack, as though a bone was breaking…and a wail of pain with words that said "Help me!"

Ariel sobbed into Harmony's shoulder. Eric had tears in his eyes. Coral cried muffled sobs into her knees. John sat dumbfounded, his bottom lip trembling. Emma shook her head, letting tears fall freely down her face. Harmony stared catatonically at the computer screen, with hot tears falling down her face.

"It's…around 2 in the morning. I woke up about ten minutes ago…I don't know how long I was out for. But I was out long enough to miss my dance. Oh god, after so much, so much…I missed it. I missed it. And…and just look at my face!" The camera zoomed in on the girl's features…which were horrifying. When Harmony had defeated Amaranth and Morgana she'd been in bad shape. But what the girl looked like then on the screen made her other injuries seem like scrapes.

Her face was badly beaten, with her nose still running blood. Bruises covered every inch of it, along with horrible cuts all along her body. Her left arm—her more dominant arm—was hanging in an awkward angle…with a wooden spoon and some hair ties making a crappy looking splint on the arm. It was swollen heavily from the broken bone. Both her eyes were red with blood—and around the eye, on the skin, were two horrible looking black shiners. The girl's mascara ran down her face, onto the top of her hot pink dress. Her ankle seemed to be twisted, with the low heel on it completely gone.

"A-and after so much hard work…l-look at my dress." Kathy whispered, moving the camera awkwardly with her painful right arm—though it wasn't in nearly as much pain as her left. Her dress, the one she'd struggled so many mornings to get enough money to buy…was now full of holes, dark red with blood, and more looking like silk rags than anything. It was horrifying.

When the video finally shut off, with the girl still sobbing so hard that her body hurt, the next scene was of the girl, about a month later. Her arm was in a light blue cast, and her face seemed to be in much better condition—however not all of the swelling had gone down entirely, even in a month. Where once was a girl excited for a dance, crushing on a boy, and happy go lucky…now there was a girl who wasn't eager for anything. She spoke not a word about the boy she liked—she said it didn't matter anymore. She was no longer happy go lucky…instead, she was horribly pessimistic, holding an off-standish view of everything that had to do with faith, trust, and love. She could no longer look at the color pink without thinking about it in disgust. She hated to dress up. She was sarcastic, bitter, mean at times. And as the video finally ended, for good, the girl finally opened up and cried softly into her knees, whispering the words that everyone was thinking.

"Oh god, what happened to me?" The girl whispered, crying as she rocked herself back and forth, reaching out an arm to shutoff the video camera. The video ended then, no more scenes, no more…nothing. Just darkness.

* * *

**:**( I cried. Alot. It's just so sad! She was a happy kid, sure she didn't have the best life, but she made due with it. And then....she just turned around. Her entire attitude became helpless, her views of the world were gone...it was so sad! **

**Well, anyway, I got yelled at by my brother in the car today. It was raining ALL DAY LONG (funny how in other parts of the world it's snowing, and in Miami it's raining so hard that the school field was flooded!) and in my school, to switch classes we have to walk outside. Yes I know. That's why 1, today wasn't the best of days because while switching classes, we got all soaking wet! I like rain, i really do, but i don't like it when I have a 100 dollar school book in my hands and if it get's damaged I have to buy it! ;( Well, anyway, when the bell rang, I had to go from one side of the school to another, get to my locker and quickly switch my books (i had 25 words of vocab that I had to do TWICE EACH, and HANDWRITE for homework) and then run to his car. In the process, I slipped on the asfault in the parking lot, and now have a bruise the size of texas on my shoulder, and my elbows are all scraped up! Plus I was in the parking lot, so cars were honking at me to get up! I just tripped and thye were honking at me! HOw rude, I know! And throughout all of this, it's pouring, to make things worse. So, finally, when I get to my brothers car, it's 2:44. School lets out at 2:23. I got yelled at for being twenty minutes late! And now, I've run out of neosporin for my scraped elbows, and I don't have anymore winnie the poo band aids so I had to use NORMAL band aids. *SNIFFLE* Worse twenty minutes after school EVER. **


	79. No Emotions and Exile

"Oh Harmony…oh my baby…my poor sweet baby…oh sweetheart…" Ariel managed to choke out, her sobs filling the room as she hugged Harmony close to her, not willing to let go any time soon. While Melody had been tucked into bed and left with a kiss on her forehead by her parents that night, Harmony had been beaten savagely, everything in her world falling on top of her. How could they? How could they beat her? How could they hurt a child? Those monsters! Those horrible, horrible, horrible, monsters!

"I'll kill them." Eric said, his voice low and gruff, but the tears in his eyes speaking another story all together. "I'm going to kill them. You…you tried so hard…and it all…I'm going to kill them all Harmony. I swear it; I'm going to kill them!" Eric's voice was a firm, menacing low, and Harmony knew he'd go through with his threat. How could they hurt a child that tried so hard?! How could they hurt a child who'd overcome all the odds?! How could they hurt a girl who worked every morning, who got so sick she could barely talk in the video, and who tried her hardest at just making everything stick together?! How could they do something so…awful?!

"I-I'm so-so sorry. I'm s-so sorry." Ariel kept whispering it over and over again, holding onto Harmony tightly. How could someone do that to a young girl?! How could they scar her like that?!

"Wh-why didn't you just tell us that? We would have understood…we would have helped you Kat." Emma's broken voice said, as the girl tried to get her head around things. She remembered Harmony calling her the next day and offering a thin explanation about why she couldn't go. She'd said that she'd fallen off the roof of her home when she was messing around with Ryan.

"Oh Harmony." Coral cried, muffling her sobs into her knees as she just thought of it. At fourteen years old, the end of the school year, the girl had been annoyed at her parents—like any teen—and couldn't wait for school to end. At the end of the school year for Harmony though, the girl had been praying the nightmare would end.

"I-I…I don't know what to say. They're assholes." John finally came up with the right words, before shaking his head and looking upwards at the girl he loved. So that was her childhood. That was why she'd rather read than attend a ball. Yes, her fourteenth year with Ariel and Eric had been awful…but John truly saw the extent of her pain now.

"It hurt a lot." Harmony's voice quietly noted, as her mother sobbed even harder. "But…it's the past. It's nothing." Harmony's smooth voice said, as everyone looked up at her incredulously.

"H-How can you say that?! Th-they were beating you like…like monsters!" Ariel's voice gasped out, pain and misery that should belong to Harmony laced into her voice as she shook with anger and pain.

"You take what you get and don't ask questions. It's in the past now, something far behind." Harmony said, her body actually relaxed though her mind was a blur of emotions. Without her daily anti-depressant…she was actually left with emotions all over the place, going up and down and side to side…how did normal people deal with it? "Look, it's nearly midnight, and I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep now…so g'night." Harmony said, leaning down for only a split second to give her fiancée a kiss goodnight, before disappearing from everyone's view all together.

"…la la, da da da, la la da da da da…" A quiet voice hummed, making Harmony slowly wake up. Her night was filled, with of course, nightmares. Would there ever be a night where she'd be normal? The girl didn't know. "Oh! Harmony darling, you're awake!" Ariel said with a smile, tucking a strand of red hair behind her daughter's ear.

"Why are you in my room?" Harmony's bluntness could sometimes be a curse, Ariel thought with a sigh, shaking her head at the girl as she tried to make the smile reach her eyes. It didn't work.

"Well sweetheart…I wanted to talk to you about something…" Ariel trailed off uneasily, knowing that Harmony wasn't going to take the news well, but Ariel had no choice. She wanted the girl to be…fine, and that couldn't happen if she was around so much pain and suffering.

"Uh huh." Harmony made a noise to make it look like she was listening, as she threw her legs over her bed and let herself walk—a little unsteadily from just waking up—towards her wash basin.

"Alright honey, here's the thing, and don't be mad, please." Ariel warned ahead of time, as Harmony made a noise in her throat, as she splashed cool water onto her face to wake her up. "Well…your father and I were up late last night…talking, and we…we think it's in everyone's best interest if you spend some time in Atlantica. Just a little break from…everything that's been going on. How does that sound?" Ariel cringed already as she saw Harmony's steely eyes turn towards her.

"So…basically you're exiling me?" Harmony said, her blue eyes filled with crystal fire as her arms already started to have blue flames tickle at them. Ariel's eyes went wide.

"Not like that honey! Just…*sigh*, your father and I want what's best for you, and we don't think that you staying here, in the castle, where…you've had so much pain is the best for you right now. You need a vacation sweetheart…but we still want to be nearby, in case of an emergency."

"Whatever." Harmony sighed, shaking her red locks, as she grabbed a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, going behind her screen to pull them on quickly. "When do I have to go into exile—I mean, 'leave'—again?" The girl wondered, her voice muffled as she tried to pull on her shirt.

"After breakfast sweetheart, with your cousin for a few days. And it's not exile. It's…just a small vacation…just to get your thoughts back in order." Ariel said softly, taking her daughter into her arms and hugging her. "I can never forgive myself for hurting you Harmony; and I don't want another repeat of the past. I want you to be happy my darling, and let's face it, we both know that won't happen if you're here all of your school break. Go to Atlantica, have fun, and when you get back, we'll deal with everything one at a time. Alright my little tune?" Ariel asked softly, her pleading eyes looking into those of her daughter to please, just do this for her. The woman would forever hate herself for imposing so much hurt on her daughter, but that wasn't going to happen again. And…there was also another reason Ariel was sending her daughter to Atlantica on such short notice. The lack of emotion from the girl the night before had made the mother fearful, worried, and concerned about what was happening with her daughter. Harmony had to get away from everything—fast, so her life could return to the normal it had been before.

"Fine." Harmony grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Ariel smiled gratefully at the girl, before warily looking her outfit up and down. A baby tee that said 'redheads do it better' and a pair of ripped jeans…the woman winced at the sight of it. Still though, she said not a word about her daughter's wardrobe choice. It was enough that she was getting her daughter to go to Atlantica and try to have for once, a good break from….everything.

* * *

**Well, it looks like Harmony is going to Atlantica, and wherever Harmony goes, mayhem always ensues. Still, I feel really bad about...you know, everything that happened to her as a kid! But at least Ariel and Eric are being understanding instead of being assholes about it! :D So...who watches American Idol? Anyone? Oh come on people! The season i actually start watching is the season everyone stops watching! Well, anyway, at the end of the episode it was so funny because this guy came into audition...and he was wearing a bikini! No, but I mean a full on, pink BIKINI top AND Bottom! I nearly cried from laughing so hard! **


	80. Midnight Misgivings

"…Harmony? Dear, are you in here?" Athena's wondering voice asked, poking her head into the library for a moment. The Atlantican queen had to stay up late to finish up some paperwork, and after had gone to the girls' room to make sure her daughter was sleeping and hadn't snuck out, as she was so prone to doing. That's when she'd realized that Harmony wasn't asleep. That's what probed the woman to start looking for her, silently as most within the castle were fast asleep, seeing as how it was near midnight.

"Yeah. I'm here." A voice so soft said that Attina barely heard it. Opening the door to the large library in the castle, the woman was met with the sight of her niece curled in a chair, her glasses still on, as she was looking at…something. It seemed like a book…but it was a rather large book. An old stuffed animal was being clutched tightly against her stomach, its legs uselessly tumbling down. There was a faint trace of tears in Harmony's voice, and her sniffles only added to that suspicion.

"It's nearly midnight honey. You should be sleeping." Attina's soft voice said to her niece, as she swam towards the girl who shrugged, keeping her head down low and focused on the book.

"I'm not tired." Harmony said, her shoulders slumping as she looked down at whatever she was reading, before sighing heavily and shaking her head as though she could erase the thoughts in her mind. This was what, day three?, without her antidepressants…the girl felt…strange. Emotions rushed through her, she was no longer held down by them. But with emotions come…depression. Which was the exact state the girl had fallen into.

"What are you reading?" Attina asked, breaking the silence that she and Harmony had fallen into. Harmony never really established a relationship with any of the adults—excepting Athena, of course. It just seemed that the girl was…well…not intent on ever knowing her Aunts or Uncles or even Grandfather more than by name. No one could figure out why. They certainly had never done anything to the girl. When they had asked Cori and Coral, both had clammed up, not emitting a word about why Harmony wouldn't become at least friends with anyone.

"Not reading. Looking." Harmony said softly, placing the book down on her lap as she let her fingers trace a picture. Attina took in a deep breath as she saw what Harmony was looking at. There were...portrait like things…except more realistic…as they were captured in time…they were small, and put into sleeve like things all along the book, with about six lining up each page.

"That's you… isn't it?" Attina asked softly, gently brushing her fingers against the protective cover of the tiny portrait. In it was a girl of maybe…two and half or so, with a pacifier stuck in her mouth. Her red hair was pulled into two high ponytails that had curls dangling from them. She was holding about five stuffed animals in her arms—all in different colors, and all looking a bit worn down, as though they weren't new—but her tiny arms were having a hard time holding all of them at once, and Attina could see how they were slipping through her arms. Her head was looking up, as if the portrait had just captured the one second that the child had looked up, before most likely looking down and trying to hold all her stuffed animals at once.

"Yeah." Harmony said softly, as she let her fingers trail down to the next picture. In it was a boy of about four or so, groping hard at the little girl's red hair with a malicious smile all over his features. The little girl had tears streaming down her face, as she was clutching a stuffed animal and her mouth was opened wide in what was probably a wail.

"Does your mother know about these?" Attina asked softly, looking at the mini portraits and, she couldn't resist it, smiling. She could pin point all those moments that were captured in the tiny photograph from her own children's childhood—or that of her younger sister's.

"I haven't shown her yet." Harmony said, her voice breaking as she saw the very last picture on the page was of a little girl, giggling as her arms were wrapped joyfully around her brother's neck tightly so she didn't fall off of his back.

"Oh sweetheart." Attina murmured, squeezing the girl's shoulders in comfort. Harmony let out ragged breaths, trying hard not to cry in the presence of her oldest Aunt. "It's alright to cry Harmony. You don't need to hold it all in." Attina murmured in a soothing tone, taking the girl's sloppy braid into her fingers and quickly undoing it. If there was one thing Attina couldn't _stand_ it was messy hair.

"N-No. I won't cry. I'm alright." Harmony said firmly, brushing away the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. "I've got to be." The girl whispered, her hands clutching at the old photo album. She'd been thinking so hard about her childhood that she hadn't even noticed when the old album had appeared in her hands.

"Are you sure? You know your family is always here for you Harmony." Attina murmured, as the girl let out a bitter laugh at that. And the woman knew why. After all Harmony had been through, her parents beating her as a child, her next set of parents throwing her out and not accepting her as their daughter…well…family just didn't come easily for the girl.

"Ohana means family. And family means no one get's left behind…or forgotten. Look at me Attina. I've _been _left behind by Janice and Austin, I've _been _forgotten by Ariel and Eric; I don't _have_ a freaking family."

Inadvertently, Harmony's harsh words stung her Aunt in a horrible way. No one ever called her Attina—save for the adults. Her score of nieces and nephews called her 'Aunt Attina', and her children called her 'Mother'. It was horrible knowing that Harmony couldn't accept her own Aunt as her Aunt. And the fact that she called her parents—both sets of them—by their first names…it was as if the girl thought she was all alone in two separate worlds.

"You have your grandmother, Athena. You have your fiancée, John. And your friend Emma." Attina pointed out softly. Sure she could have pointed out Ariel, but she'd seen Ariel slap the girl before…and she'd seen how the girl pulled out a knife and tried to kill herself. Sure she could have said Eric, but she knew that 99% of teenage girls + their fathers = hate. Sure, she could have even pointed out even herself…but she knew that it would be a lie to Harmony.

"Yeah. But Athena is going to die before me. And then…then I'll lose touch with Emma, since we live separate lives…and then I'll sink into a deep depression, I'll lose John—because, hell, who'd want to be stuck with someone who's like a vegetable?—and then, as usual, it'll be me against two worlds." Harmony's bitter words made sense, Attina realized with a sinking heart. And there wasn't a thing she could do to change this girl's mind. She couldn't tell the girl that everything would be alright…because, she'd seen Ariel do the same to Harmony…and then watched as the girl's world crumbled beneath her touch.

"I'm sorry." Attina finally managed to say, her throat closing up as she realized there were no other words in a dictionary to comfort this girl. Her heart had long been torn out, stomped on, and then given back to her…just to have it all happen again. And now, the girl was done with the heartbreak. She was…she was just giving up. She didn't want to keep trusting, keep loving, keep having faith, and watch it all go to waste again and again. And that's what stung the most.

Once upon a time, Attina's seventeen year old world had been made of sneaking looks at the cute boys in the village, keeping her younger sisters in line, making sure that she spent enough time primping to make her look good…and then wallowing in her self pity that she had no mother, no music, and a father who didn't pay attention. Briefly, the woman wondered what Harmony would do just to have a world like that.

"Say 'sorry' all you want Attina; it doesn't make anything better. It's just a stupid phrase meant to forgive, when all it does is wedge apart." Harmony said bitterly, tucking her now loose red hair behind her ears and sighing as she shook her head. She knew she should be better, tell her Aunt she was alright…but damn it, she was tired of playing that game. She didn't want to play pretend anymore, scratch that, she didn't even _want _to play. "Look, I'm going to bed. Stay here all you want with your mouth wide open; it won't change anything." Attina shut her mouth quickly, upon realizing it was hanging wide open. Before she could reach out and hug her niece, the portrait book in Harmony's hand disappeared, and with it, so did the girl.

* * *

**Wow. Intense chapter, wouldn't you say so? So am I off the hook--excuse the pun--for not updating in FOREVER? I really am sorry about that. It's just that...I've been just not in the mood to write lately. But, after watching a youtube video, I'm back in the swing of things and here to stay. So anyway, what do you think about this chapter? I mean, what do you think Attina should have done? What do you think Harmony CAN do? How can Harmony do that? How can Attina do that? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?!! **

**In case your wondering about the last question, 543. Yes I counted. Yes, it took me forever, and I really had to fight my inner candy demons not to just start chewing on the thing. Yes, candy demons are real. What? You don't believe me? Than you know what, get off this fanfic! You should believe me! I updated all for you, and here you are, not believing me! Ugh! The nerve of some teenagers, wouldn't you agree Mr. Owl? **

**.....**

**I'll be updating Altered Reality soon, in case you want that to happen really bad! Oh, and I almost forgot! Athena's story will be coming soon, so review and I might just post it up tonight! (Yes, I realize it's superbowl night, and yes, I realize that the superbowl is being held in Miami, and I HATE turists. What with their flashy camera's, and their 'ooh! Look at the beach! Oh the weather is so warm! Oh, look, FISH! Wow! Is that a sailboat? Hey look, it's one of the natives! Wave to the natives! Stupid tourists coming into MY town and letting their stupid tourist kids play on MY neighborhood playground. Now where can me and my friends go to make trouble and feel really old and smart when we're surrounded by eight year olds?! Oh I know! NO WHERE! Stupid football. Stupid Superbowl. Stupid tourists. Stupid...did you know that Taylor Lautner was on Miami beach yesterday playing volleyball! It was some charity event...I waited for THREE hours after the game to get a picture with him. Best picture EVER. I was nearly hysterical! He was like 'Hi, I'm Taylor.' And I was like, hyperventalating and was like, 'H-H-Hi...I-I'm...C-Converse r-r Li-Life! His abs are SO much hotter in person! Anyway, this is a really long parenthesis so I'm going to end it right...now! Haha, you thought i'd end it but I didn't end it when you thought I was, so in your faces! I am)**


	81. Home is Where the Heart Is

"You look like a dork with those glasses on, do you know that?" Coral said the following morning, as Harmony slipped into her seat next to the girl at the breakfast table.

"I can't see without them." Harmony said simply, shrugging as she pushed her thick wire rimmed black glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"I thought you only used them for reading." Cori mentioned, stuffing some cereal into his mouth. "Which you know, is really dorky." The boy finished, swallowing a glass of blue whale's milk. For some reason, the boy liked to eat his cereal dry, and _then _had to swallow milk.

"My eyes have been all screwy since the day before I was supposed to get married. Today there just really bad." At the words 'I was supposed to get married' immediately all conversations at the table—children and adults alike—stopped and just stared at Harmony, as if trying to figure something out. Upon noticing this, Harmony looked around at her family with a bewildered expression. "What I'd do?" The girl wondered a bit offensive as she didn't understand why her family was staring at her like she had a fifth eye.

Her question was met with silence, and uncomfortable coughs. No one wanted to be able to tell the princess that it was a bit…strange that she was just completely fine with the fact of what happened the day she was supposed to get married…and the rumors that swirled about her. Though the family knew the truth of what had happened that day…rumors were hard to ignore.

"Is it true that you killed your brother, and you felt so guilty about it that you started having sex with lots of boys, and then that boy that you loved told you he didn't love you anymore because he found out and then that's why you didn't have a wedding?" A young, nine year old voice who wasn't afraid of anything asked. Harmony had always been Serene's almost older sister that the girl had looked up to…until recently, when the girl had overheard all about Harmony's past.

"Who told you that?" Harmony's eyes were dark, her lip curled back in a frightening anger. Her fists were already balled up, and her teeth were clenching as blue flames started to tickle her skin.

"No one told me. I overheard it." The nine year old said simply. No one intervened…no one said a word…no adults scolded the girl…because they were all curious about it as well. Only one person prayed silently, that things would be alright for Harmony.

"From. Who." Harmony's rage was horribly full on now, as Serene blinked, not understanding that tone from Harmony, before shrugging it off.

"Aunt Attina. She was talking to the grownups about it." Serene said simply again, her blonde wisps falling into her face as the girl quickly pushed them back. Harmony looked up at all her family—cousins, grownups, grandparents—before uttering three words from her lips.

"Fuck. You. All." With that, Harmony pushed back her chair, letting it scrape against the floor, as she swam the hell away from her family. And as it would turn out, Athena couldn't bear to keep in her sorrow for the girl any longer, as she too pushed back her chair, calling after Harmony.

_Standing at the back door  
She tried to make it fast  
One tear hit the hard wood  
It fell like broken glass  
She said sometimes love slips away  
And you just can't get it back  
Let's face it_

Harmony's voice was soft, scared, but she knew she was in a place they'd never find her. Her fingers danced along the piano keys, as she tried to keep it all together, thought it was all falling apart. She was in her own safe haven, the one place she constantly escaped to, even when she was on land. She was in Urusla's old lair.

_  
For one split second  
She almost turned around  
But that would be like pouring rain drops  
Back into a cloud  
So she took another step and said  
I see the way out and I'm gonna' take it_

How many times had she taken the way out? How many times had the girl taken that step, seen her way out, and then ended up right back where she was, as though that step had never mattered?

_  
I spent my life jaded  
And I've woken up to find  
That I've let all these years go by  
Wasted_

All these seventeen years…had been for nothing. The girl hadn't done anything important. She'd always been the dork at school, the girl with clumsy shoes and glasses too thick for a normal person to see out of. And that's what she'd be all her life.

_Another glass of whisky but it still don't kill the pain  
So she clutches at the bottle, and drinks it all away They says it's time to be all grown, and stop living for yesterday  
But how to face it_

They all said, be an adult. Stop remembering yesterday, grow up. But how could she? How could she just…grow up? Her past would always haunt her, be that shadow that loomed over her. And without antidepressants…well, the girl only had one more option to take away her pain. Whiskey.

_  
I'll just keep keep on wishing, missing  
The still of the morning, the color of the night  
All my life I've been spending time  
It's all wasted_

Her life….what life? Most teens her age went out during spring break, went skiing, white water rafting, went to exotic places…and here Harmony was, just in a creepy looking cave, drinking whiskey and wallowing in self pity. Yes, this was the life of a princess. A princess in exile.

"How much of you will it take for me to pass out?" The girl wondered, staring at the whiskey bottle. She wanted, if only for a few minutes, to be away from this pain. "I guess I better start." The girl said aloud, as if hoping the walls could talk, and tell her that this was wrong. But the walls couldn't talk. It was just silent in the cave, as the girl took one long gulp from the whiskey bottle, before just throwing it angrily at the wall. The glass shattered, falling to the floor and disappearing into the undergrowth.

Ariel had had a cavern filled top to bottom with human things; that had been her safe haven. Melody had had the sea, with salty water, and a red crab that constantly scolded her; that was her safe haven. Well, it only made sense Harmony had her own.

True, it was a different kind of safe haven…but it was alright with the girl. The shelves that had once held potions had been cleaned out by the girl, and replaced by books, shells the girl thought were pretty or cool looking rocks…or even a thing from a shipwreck or too. The hanging chair had been re molded into something less creepy, and actually more comfortable looking for the girl. The walls had old posters of bands the girl liked, and C.D.'s littered one shelf, with a boom box next to it. Where the vanity had once been now was a small piano that the girl had found in one of the storage rooms of Atlantica. It was old, small, and not nearly as nice as the one the music room had now. This was where no one could find her, know her, judge her, or think of her. But for Harmony, it was perfect. This, the girl knew, was her one piece of true home.

But, her reflection time and slowly subsiding tears were interrupted by a familiar voice calling into the old cave.

* * *

**For all those who think it's Athena calling into the cave, trust me, it's not going to be. I'm going to postpone her story until NEXT chapter, because I want you all to review this one! HAHAAHAHAHA! **

**So anyway...review!**


	82. A Picture Only Asks One Word: Why?

"Harmony? Harmony sweetie, are you here?" A soft voice called, making Harmony's eyes grow wide. How had they found her? No! She wasn't going back! She was going to stay here! She'd go to school, but she'd live here! She wasn't going to leave! "Harmony, there you are! I thought something had happened to you…" Athena trailed off uneasily as she came into view, and stared at the cave that had been Harmony-ized.

"Go the hell away Grandma. I don't know how you found me, and I don't care why you're here. Just leave me alone." Harmony said, turning her back in the chair to her grandmother. She felt a warm hand gently press against her shoulder, turning her back over so that she was facing her grandmother.

"Harmony I just spent the last two hours searching for you. I'm not leaving." Athena's voice was full of soft, firm authority that Harmony recognized from her own mother. The woman looked her granddaughter up and down, noticing the puffiness of Harmony's face that looked as though she'd been crying. Sighing, Athena took Harmony's hands in her own, bringing her granddaughter to her level. Harmony looked away, not wanting to look at her grandmother, but Athena gently moved her head into her view. "I'm so sorry. They don't…*sigh*…what I mean is, they just don't know."

A bitter laugh arose from Harmony at that. "_They_ don't know?" The girl questioned, a hard edge to her voice. "Athena, _you_ don't know. All my life…I've been just pushed around, taken for granted…and apologizes, I've learned; don't count for shit in the real world. So just go walk—swim—whatever the hell verb that's used—_away_." Athena regarded the teenager for a moment, before shaking her head and sighing. She let her eyes travel along the walls of the cave, the cave she'd seen in her nightmares…now it looked…it just looked like a teenager's place.

Pictures of Harmony with her friends at various ages aligned the walls in no particular order, books scattered about, the old piano Athena recognized tucked into a corner, sketches of places, people, things creating a sort of wallpaper, shells and rocks taking the place of potions on shelves, and even posters of cute boys that Athena knew must be part of some type of boy-band that Harmony liked. But there was one thing in particular that caught the grandmother's eye.

A handmade frame made from rock—presumably hand made by Harmony's powers—was positioned on top of the piano. In the picture was a little girl of probably seven or so, with her hair pulled high into two short pigtails. She had a wide, gum toothed smile on her face, her front two teeth missing. Her arms were thrown around a little boy about two inches taller than her, and she was looking up at him like he was the world. The boy, in turn, tried to maneuver his way out of the girl's hug, a fierce scowl on his face with his tongue sticking out.

"This is you and him, correct?" Athena questioned softly, letting her slender fingers trace the frame. Harmony nodded, barely as she looked away from her grandmother, a dejected look on her features. "You were so young…I can only imagine how much pain your mother is in from seeing that…er…moving portrait, of your thirteenth year. This would drive her to the edge of insanity in pain." Athena noted, letting herself become immersed in the picture.

Ariel had told Attina, who'd told the family about the…whatever the name of that moving portrait was, that Harmony had showed them…and how Harmony being beaten had been caught, and every blow, every cry of pain, every desperate scream to stop had been heard.

"Grandma…" Harmony said, a heavy sigh coming out from her as she pulled her tail up and rested her chin on it. "Why do _I_ have to have powers? Why couldn't I have just been born normal, always known Ariel and Eric, and never had any of these problems? Why couldn't I just have a loving, normal life, like Melody? Sure, when I was twelve things would get out of hand…but still. I'd rather have that than have…well, this. And all because of these stupid powers." Harmony sighed, shaking her head as she let a soft flame dance on her fingers. "I hate this." The girl said softly, staring at the flame with a mixture of sadness and hurt.

Athena bit her lip, fighting with herself. Maybe it was time she told her granddaughter the truth. Maybe, just maybe…no! The girl would hate her! The relationship they had would crumble! But she had a right to know—it didn't matter! Fighing with herself, Athena finally came to a conclusion. Turning around, she opened her mouth to speak, taking in a deep breath.

"You want to know why? I can give you your answer." The woman said, as half her mind screamed NO! And the other half screamed YES! It was very confusing, needless to say.

"What?" Harmony asked, startled from her self pity as hope, shock, and pain radiating off of her like an atom bomb. Athena took in another deep breath, sighing, shaking her head, before she started to speak once again.

"I can tell you why you have powers. Why you aren't a normal child, like your sister." Athena said, her quiet voice carrying father in the cave that had caused the woman too much pain throughout her years. "I warn you, it's not a happy story." The grandmother said, putting a palm to her forehead as she thought of it.

"I don't care. I'll do anything to know why." Harmony retorted, hope coming out from her. Maybe if she knew the source of her powers, she could eradicate them from her system all together, and perhaps travel back in time to stop herself from ever disappearing.

"Alright." Athena said, running her fingers through her muted red hair, sighing and knowing that no matter what happened now, she was stuck. Harmony could either hate her, love her, or understand her point of view. The woman only hoped the last one would be the one the girl would do.

Taking in another deep breath, Athena started to explain.


	83. Athena's Story

"My parents had been brought together in an arranged marriage, as was common back then…needless to say, they did not like each other much. No, scratch that, they _hated_ each other. But, like all monarchs, they managed to bring forth an heir, and then vowed never again to even so much as _look _at each other. I was born in the kingdom of Micraliga, the only child, the only Princess, of my parents.

"The kingdom I was born into was…a mess. Chaos ruled the towns, riots and deaths flew higher and higher. Many feared for their lives…and turned to their monarchs for help. But, my parents could not work together. What my mother thought a good idea, my father hated. What my father thought an excellent idea, my mother ridiculed. And so, the kingdom fell into a state of terror.

"My parents, since they could not control their kingdom, or live with each other, turned to the drink…and then, turned on me. I can't remember much or why…I just remember a horrible pain…blacking out…it happened almost nightly…yes Harmony, just like you, I was beaten…and Neptune only knows how many wasted tears I would shed as my bruises became deeper and darker. I was even told not to sing because…I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't aloud, on the penalty of being beaten. And so, my voice didn't sing for a long time.

"When I was about…midway through my fourteenth year, I discovered a new talent that hadn't come in centuries. I was a witch. The thought thrilled me, and in secrecy, I practiced, watching at how my powers grew and I was able to contain them. I unlocked the mysterious of my spell book, the one that had been handed down for ages to the new witches.

"Of course, there was one part of my new witch life that I hated to death. The nightmares. I was plagued by them almost every night, making me watch over and over again what Amaranth had done to those poor people. Making me see the blood, the terror in all their eyes…*Shudder*, I think you understand where I'm going at. And yet, as horrible as they were, I still somewhat enjoyed my witch life.

"Sure, my bruises were bad, and sure, I knew that if ever caught by my parents I'd be dead within the hour…but I couldn't help it. It was the only thing that helped me deal with the pain of my horrible life. It was the only thing that made me believe one day, I might escape from everything.

"As I arrived on my sixteenth year, possible marriages started to be arranged…and then…a betrothal. I would be married to Prince Triton of Atlantica, hopefully uniting our kingdoms and stopping the madness that ruled mine. But…I knew nothing of this 'Triton'. I had so rarely ever left the palace walls that all I knew was from the gossip I overheard of him…and none of it was all too kind.

"I threw a fit when I was informed of my arranged marriage that was to take place in a month's time. My mother had never been much of a mother to me, so instead of soothing my tears, she slapped me across my face and told me to stop acting like a child. My father wasn't any help in soothing my tears either, as all he did was threaten to…do some horrible things, let's just say. And that's when I just…I just _snapped_.

"*Shudder* I won't recount the horrid details of you that night, because I'm sure you understand what it is to feel like you have all the power in the world…and suddenly, you just can't take it anymore and you hurt them.

"I killed my mother that night. It was accidental, I hadn't meant to harm her, and I just wanted her to _see _what this was doing to me. Actually, to be fair, it really should count as my father who killed her, because he's the one that pushed her in front of me when my flames reached melting temperatures. But I'm not going to point fingers. I burned her so badly that within the night, she was dead.

"While she was gasping for breath, and writhing in agony from her burns—which my father never called the doctor to have them treated, and that might have saved her life, but again, I won't point fingers—my father…my father gave me the worst beating I have ever had. I still have the scars from that night, emotionally and physically…and I assure you, they aren't pretty.

"Because of my new…features, courtesy of my father, the wedding had to be postponed for about two more months. From then on, he would just call me a demon. I had no name any longer. I was just…a demon. A monster. I was refused a doctor to try and tape me up; rather, in my father's eyes, a demon like me could take care of herself. And I could have used a healing spell…but my wounds were intentional, meant to hurt, so my spell would not function. And from then on, I _hated _my powers…so I did the only thing I knew to take them away.

"I went to the so called 'sea witch' Ursula…in this very cave. She was terrifying; with six tentacles and a silky sweet voice that made me know I was in a form of hell. Note that this was only a week or so after my father beat me within an inch of my life…and without a doctor; my wounds were horrendous, some even starting to infect. I proposed a trade to her. I would give her my spell book, and she would make sure I got some type of help for my wounds—mentally, emotionally, and physically.

"I taught her how to read ancient Atlantican that had once been the language of all the kingdoms. I then, with her help, used an old spell inside the book…that didn't get rid of my powers, but rather forfeited them to another generation of my offspring. And…to keep my future offspring from doing the same as I did…*sigh*…I ripped and burned the page out of that spell book—burned using one of the spells that won't allow you to bring it back, no matter how hard you tried. Looking back, I knew it was stupid, but I _had_ to do it. It was the only way to live.

"Ursula was true to her word. I don't know why she was so evil with your mother and tried to make her life miserable, and with me she was nice, and I guess I will never know. But anyway, by the time I made it back to Micraliga…there was help there.

"Somehow the an ambassador had gone to my kingdom to try and find at date to set for Triton and my wedding. As usual, I cowered from any contact with strangers—which included my father—when I saw him, and hid behind the door to watch as him and my father discussed my future.

"But…this was about me, so I was forced to show my horribly bruised face and body to the ambassador. I was half delirious from the pain and weakness of my beating, and from the spell. I couldn't form coherent sentences, my mind felt like a foggy mess…I just remember all this yelling…and being pulled…and then I blacked out, I guess.

"The next thing I remember seeing is…this face, hovering over me…the person was so…pretty, as I recall thinking. As I later learned, it was Queen Attina—Triton's mother—who was a healer and had been looking after me. Apparently, the ambassador, upon seeing me, knew that I would not survive for long, and had taken me to Queen Attina, who was known throughout all lands for being a wonderful healer.

"The story that my father had given was that I had gone to the market place just for a few minutes to mingle with some friends, and had been most likely beaten. It was a story that made sense, considering that the market place was a dangerous place for anyone.

"In time, and with everyone's help from Atlantica, I was able to return to my former strength, and my bruises healed—though I still carry some horrible scars…and I no longer was a witch. I never told a soul about my story—though I'm sure the Queen must have guessed it from my delirious mumblings—because…in a way…it was my fault all of that happened…and I couldn't bear to see anyone leave me alone again, I just couldn't.

"In time, I had seven daughters, I could sing again, and I was happy. Nightmares still haunted me from time to time, but with I learned that with your beloved beside you, the nightmares seem less scary. Of course, my life was ended badly when I was killed by that ship because I was an idiot for going back up for the music box…but I learned I had a witch granddaughter who brought me back, and only asked for the chance to be able to read whatever whenever in the palace library.

"And…this is the worst of it, when I found out that _you_ were a witch, and that you had been beaten as a child too…I don't know. I saw myself in you. I saw my mistakes. I saw my fears. I saw everything that I had tried too hard to keep away. I was scared for you, that's why I grew angry. I knew what you were going through…and I knew that your powers could lead you to do drastic measures. I didn't want you to make my mistakes. I regret every day that I took my powers away, because if I had just dealt with them, like you do, _you_ could have had a better life.

"You could have been normal…like you've always wanted…if I had just been a better person and stuck with it. Harmony…I know you don't accept apologizes any longer, so I won't ask you to forgive me. I just want you to understand that…whatever you think of me from now on, still keep in mind that as a friend…I will _always _regret making your life a living hell."

* * *

**Wonder what Harmony will do...:D Review! **


	84. Pretend it Doesn't HurtBut It Does

For once, Harmony didn't curse. She didn't let out a heavy sigh. She didn't tell her grandmother what she was really thinking. She didn't sing to ease the pain. She didn't drink to erase her pain. She didn't cut herself to take off the edge…she did nothing. She just sat there, numbly taking it all in. Athena stared at the girl, hoping her granddaughter would show some sort of sign that she was still alright…but the girl didn't move. She just sat there, staring at one of the boy band posters…almost catatonically. With her motherly side piping up, Athena slowly reached out a hand, to let it rest on Harmony's shoulder. The girl flinched as she saw the woman's hand come near her.

"Harmony," Athena said helplessly, letting her hand retreat as she knew that may not be the best action right at the moment. The girl looked up at Athena with tortured blue eyes, a pain that even surpassed her grandmother's in them.

"That's not my name." It was a quiet, small, scared voice that said it, the voice coming out from the red head's lips. Her shoulders were shaking, her blue eyes were tortured, ice was forming on her fingertips, and then being melted off by fire as her emotions switched on and off.

"What do you mean?" Athena's voice questioned, clearly shocked. She'd expected to be cursed out. She'd expected Harmony to scream and swim off in a flurry of tears. She'd expected the girl to cry heart wrenching sobs of pain. But she'd never expected _this_.

"I have no name." The girl said in that small voice of hers. "I'm not Katherine. I'm not Harmony. I'm…I'm just…I'm just an idiot." A small forced laugh came out then from the girl's lips. "I'm an idiot. I mean, why should I believe that everything could get better? Nothing ever does." Her voice was broken, cracking, but her words were true. When had there ever been a good thing in her life? When had their ever been a pure moment of bliss…only to have it taken away just a few minutes later?

"Sweetheart—" Athena's voice tried to grasp at what her granddaughter was saying, but she was no match for the pain that filled the girl's heart.

"I…Just…Don't…*sigh*." The girl wasn't able to make out her words as she cut off her grandmother. "Forget it. I don't feel like fighting this." Her words were almost heartbreaking to hear. Where had that come from? Athena had always known the girl to be a fighter, one to never let go…and now…it was like, she'd just stopped believing…in everything. The girl made eye contact with her grandmother, forcing the woman to see the extent of her pain as Athena grimaced, hating herself at the moment.

"Ju-just go away." It was the same words Ariel had uttered as a sixteen year old broken hearted girl, who's world had suddenly come crashing down onto her. But this time, there were no eels to convince the red head to see the sea witch to try and follow her dream…because; the red head _was_ the sea witch…and she had no dream.

"Dear," Athena tried again, her tone remorseful. She truly hated herself for what she'd done as a sixteen year old. But she'd been a child….who'd been afraid. She hadn't had Harmony's experience with horrible things—besides being beaten as a child. She hadn't known that this would affect her granddaughter in such a horrible way. She'd thought one of her daughters would have her powers, and that with the different upbringing the girl had, she'd be alright. When she'd figured out that none of her daughters—adult daughters yes—had the gene, the woman had thought for sure that that one side of her had been put to rest. But…when she found out that Harmony had it…she'd been mad. Not at her granddaughter, rather, she'd been taking out her anger at the girl. But the true reason for her anger had been at herself, for being so stupid, to take away a girl's life for her own selfish reasons.

"Le-leave me _alone_." It was a firm, harsh, bitter word at struck at Athena's very core. Harmony curled herself into a little ball, her back pressing against the wall as her head was tucked into what would be her knees if she was on land. The girl wasn't crying—but it was only a matter of time before she did, Athena knew. Sighing, wincing, and grimacing, the woman swam out of the cave that had been the cause of all her nightmares for years now.

It was hours later that Harmony showed back up. Her family had been worrying to the extreme about her—Athena had claimed she'd searched for the girl but had found nothing. Everyone had been on edge, not willing to be the one to tell Ariel that they'd lost her daughter, and not willing to believe that the girl may have done something to herself. So you can understand how shocking it was when a girl with strands of red hair falling out of her hood sat as far away as she could from her family at the dining table.

The girl was wearing a purple jacket, her hands jammed into the pockets as the jacket was half zipped up. The sleeves went to about her knuckles, and were pushed back so that her hands actually showed. The hood of it, which was pulled over Harmony's head, had two eyes on it, and fake triangular teeth coming from all sides of the hood, as though the girl's head was being eaten. And on the right sleeve, embroidered in gold were the words 'Shark Bait Ooh-Ah-Ah'. Though no one in the girl's family had any idea why she'd wear such a thing—merpeople so rarely wore 'clothes'—they could only fear the worst; that she was hiding her arms from them.

"Harmony?" Attina called out, gently. The dinner table was unusually quiet, as everyone was focused in on one girl, who sat on the very edge of her seat, the last seat of the dinner table. The girl didn't react to her name being called. Feeling a bit miffed that Harmony didn't answer, Attina tried again…and again…and again. Finally a nudge in the ribs from Cori seemed to startle the girl, who fumbled with her iPod for a moment, before looking up. But it was just for a moment though, because in the next instant she was looking down.

Her thick black glasses were still on…but there was something different about them. The lenses were much darker than before, almost sunglasses like, hiding most of the girl's beautiful blue eyes. Her face still looked a bit swollen from most likely crying all day, and her posture was slumped, and not the regular slumping the girl usually did, no this was 'I gave up' slumping.

"Harmony honey?" Arista's gentle voice asked towards her oldest niece, whose head stayed where it was, as her fingers were focused on pushing around the meal on her plate. She made no move whatsoever to eat it.

"Yeah?" For any other child asking that, they would have been scolded for not using proper language. But because it was Harmony everyone made an exception. Her voice was broken, cracking on the syllables, like nails on a chalkboard. It made everyone give a little shudder.

"Are you okay?" Coral finally blurted out, annoyed at the shark and minnow game her Aunts were playing with her cousin. Harmony's head slowly looked upwards at her cousin, and though the lenses of her glasses were too dark to see her eyes, Coral knew that there was an amount of pain in there that she didn't want to see.

"Yeah. Sure." It was obvious to see that the girl _wasn't _okay, but no one wanted to challenge that point she made. The girl was obviously locked in a deep depression, but without her medicine, no one could do a thing to take the girl out of it. Suddenly, the chair Harmony was in was pushed backwards, the sound echoing off the walls.

"See ya later." Usually, the phrase was uttered with a laugh, a smile, a hug to a friend…never was it uttered with almost tears in one's voice, and a broken heart that came with it. With only that phrase coming from her lips, Harmony swam as fast as she could out of the dining room. But she wasn't fast enough.

Her sobs of pain echoed in the silent dining room.

* * *

**Poor Harmony. When will things clear up for her? Well, to find that out you have to REVIEW! **

**Anyway, today, i have no school! Aparently, it's like a teacher work day or something, which means I have a four day weekend because there's no school Monday either! WOO HOO! So I'm going to try and be good and post up more chapters over the LO-O-O-NG weekend**

**Lol, guess what song I'm currently obessed with? Jai Ho, sung by the Pussycat Dolls. Wasn't that the song in SlumDog millionare? I'm not sure...lol.**

**OOOH! The friggin olympics start tonight! Oh I'm so excited! I love the opening ceremony's! But, the Beijieng (Sp?) Opening ceremony's will be hard to top! Vancuver, i hope you do a good job tonight! I'm rooting for you to have a good opening ceremony! **

**Speaking of Olympics...I have this bet going on with my friend. Maybe you guys could help me out. He said that Greenland (if they even HAVE an olmpic team) doesn't have a chance at winning anything because their country has so few people (it's true! Though it's a huge country, it's so cold that many people don't live there!). I told him Greenland has MORE of a chance at winning because their country is always freezing cold, so everyone is alot better at winter sports like skiing, than say summer sports like baseball. Who's right? Please tell me, because I want to be able to collect my 20 bucks! **

**Anyway...guess what again? Yesterday, it was 46 degrees in Miami! I was freezing my butt off! But thankfully, since it's Miami, by the afternoon it was around 69-almost 70 degrees again, so it was all okay. But in the morning I did get to see my breath! I was acting so weird, breathing out really heavily just so I could see that little puff of my air! Lol, I think that's the best part about winter--alright, so maybe snowball fights, and snowmen, and all that stuff is better, but guys, I live in Miami FLORIDA. It's snowed ONCE, and it wasn't even snow! It was little white flurries coming down from the sky, and as soon as they touched the ground they melted away! So for me, seeing my breath in the air is a huge thing! **

**REVIEW! **


	85. Stormy Thoughts

All was quiet in the royal castle of Shireland. The weather outside was frightful; cold and gloomy, since around ten in the morning. At around noon the weather had suddenly taken a worse turn; rain started pouring from the clouds, and the rain hadn't stopped since. Right now it was more of a soft drizzle, but gloomy clouds still resided overhead. Most within the kingdom, and palace, had long gone to bed, and were now fast asleep, with the soft pattering of rain against their windows, of course. But one person was having a hard time sleeping, and finally, flopped on their back in bed, and let out a loud, annoyed sigh.

Ariel's blue eyes traveled to the form of her husband next to her. Eric's arm was draped across her waist, and he was sleeping like a child. Tenderly, the woman let her hand fall across his cheek in love, a small smile filling her features as she did. Eric had just used the weather as a way to postpone the day filled with meetings that the royals were supposed to have today. Instead of meetings though, he'd used the day to spend some time alone with his wife, indoors all day. Still, Ariel couldn't help feel a bit guilty as she knew that the day would have been perfect if she would have had Harmony with her family, at home.

Shaking her head and giving another, soft sigh, the woman gently slid out of her husband's arm that was draped carelessly across her waist. She swung her feet off the bed, and slowly tip toed towards the French door's that doubled as windows, and that opened up to her balcony. Stealing a look at Eric behind her, for just a moment, she saw that he was still fast asleep, thankfully. Gently, the woman pushed aside the curtain, and twisted the knob on the French door, before slipping soundlessly outside.

For Ariel, this was her favorite time of day. Sunrises reminded her too much of sunsets, and sunsets would forever be something that the woman wasn't able to look at before the memory of a heartbroken teenager crying her poor eyes out, all alone on a dock, and knowing that it was quite literally the end of her life. No, this was the best time of day—or rather, night. That darkness of night, where you look out at the sea, and can't seem to find where the sky starts, and the sea ends. Yes, this was the best time of day. Letting her loose red waves fall over her shoulders, the woman leaned over the balcony railing, looking out at the white caps of the sea with a sigh.

She had a feeling that the suddenly horrible weather wasn't just by chance, like Eric had said it was. No, the mother had a feeling that the reason for the horrible weather was her only red headed daughter, who was currently—or supposed to be currently—sleeping in a clam shell bed in Atlantica.

Harmony had a knack for controlling the weather elements depending on her mood. Usually the girl didn't even realize this, until her mood was suddenly changed, and with it, so did the weather. And if the weather was like this…well, then something must be wrong.

Of course, the mother could be overreacting. After all, it was spring, and as the nursery rhyme goes, April showers bring May flowers. But Ariel just had this _feeling_...like a motherly pull inside of her that told her that there was something wrong with Harmony. Something…really wrong.

Ariel sighed again, shaking her head as she tried to erase those thoughts from her mind. If something was really wrong with Harmony, than she would have been informed by now…and besides, the girl was able to take care of herself. She'd made it clear that she's always been on her own, independent, able to care for herself. And that hurt the girl's mother more than the girl could imagine.

The mother looked out at the sea again, with a hurt expression. The waves were crashing against each other, and the soft drizzle was starting to pick up into something worse. Had she done the right thing, in sending Harmony to Atlantica? Was she finally being a good parent…or had this just worsened the situation?

Ariel shook her head again, trying to ward herself of those depressing thoughts. Instead, she focused on…that talk she was going to have with the girl…about going back to school. The day that Harmony and Melody switched places, when Harmony had runaway to her room…Melody had stayed…and told an even more in depth account of her days being Harmony…or rather Kathy.

Ariel sighed heavily at that. From the start it seemed she would never have been a good parent to her daughter. Just look at what she'd done to the girl, when she wasn't even a year old. She'd taken her eyes off of the baby, the new to her wobbly feet baby, and then the girl vanished. How could she have been so _stupid_?! She should have tried to focus on both her new baby girl's at once, but noo, she didn't, and for eleven years she paid the consequences. And look at what that one mistake had done to her daughter's life right now.

Then again, when she'd had her children, she been nothing but a child herself. She'd gotten pregnant as a young, sixteen year old bride, and by the age of seventeen both her daughters were born. How could she have known back then anything about having her own children? She was a _girl_, not fit to have children, much less try and raise them. She'd given up her youth, and for what? So she could have one daughter who made her mother's mistake, and became pregnant at sixteen? Or so she could lose another daughter for eleven years, missing out on every important childhood milestone, and then make the girl's life a living hell when she finally returned?

Harmony had been a _child_. Neglected and abused, she'd adjusted to her new life in merely two days; with the hope things would be different. And they hadn't been. Ariel had made sure to crush any chance at her daughter having a normal life, that's how horrible she was.

Harmony had a fear of being a failure—which she'd never be to her parents—and Neptune only knew how the girl was fairing in Atlantica. If the weather was this bad….Ariel gulped, her hands gripping the railing in fear. If Harmony was hurt in Atlantica…after what had happened so far…Ariel wasn't so sure she could coax the girl back into reality again.

And then there was the matter of Harmony's—or rather, Katherine's—_other_ world. The poor girl lived double lives, and as fun as it may seem as first to be two people, for the girl, it wasn't. It had been eating her up inside to be two people for three years, Ariel knew. Soon—very soon in fact—the girl would have to choose which world she wanted to live in…and Ariel had a feeling it wasn't going to end well. Just look at what the girl had done when she was fourteen. She'd chosen to forever stay in this world…and then she'd quickly become depressed because of it. So what would happen now? Would Harmony stay with her true family, and soon to be husband in this world…or would she decide to move to her other? Sighing for probably the millionth time, the woman shook out her head once again, trying to think this all through.

"What's wrong?" A soft voice behind Ariel asked, the deep rumbling of the voice making the woman close her eyes, and rest her head against his broad chest. She felt something warm being draped across her shoulders; his cloak, the woman guessed.

"Too much to talk about." Ariel answered, sighing as she felt a wave of drowsiness overtake her. It must be early in the morning; perhaps, two or so. She should get back to bed…and worry more and more about Harmony.

"Ariel…" Eric sighed, a warning and pleading in his voice for his wife, his love, his little mermaid to tell him what was wrong.

"In the morning Eric. I'm exhausted." A yawn escaped Ariel's red lips at that, as she turned around to face her husband, her eyes pleading for him to understand that she wasn't in the mood to talk, and she just wanted to sleep to take away these thoughts. A wave of guilt overtook the mother at that, as she realized that Harmony never got to sleep to escape _her_ thoughts.

"Ariel, darling, are you sure you don't want to talk about it? You know I'll forever listen to you." The rain was starting to pick up around them, Eric realized. His wife was nearly drenched with rain from standing out in it so long…pretty soon he'd be too if they didn't enter their room.

"Not now." Ariel whispered, looking out to the now storming sea. Wanting to escape her thoughts, just for a moment as thunder boomed ominously overhead, the woman looked up at her husband with a nostalgic smile. "This reminds me of the first time I saw you."

"You me, when you saved me." Eric corrected, grinning down at his wife, just for a moment, before frowning, as he realized what she was trying to do. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it now?" Eric's gentle voice swayed in the wind, as the rain started pelting down at the couple on the balcony now. Neither of them cared.

"No."

"And you wonder how our daughters ever got so stubborn." Eric said in a teasing tone, lightening the mood as he shook his head at his wife. "Alright, in the morning we'll talk." Eric stroked his wife's wet cheek with the back of his hand at that. Raindrops were falling down her face…or were those tears? No, it must be the rain. Hopefully. "Let's go—"

"Back inside?" Ariel finished with a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yes. I guess we should." Stealing one last look at the storm that was worsening by the minute, Ariel prayed that her daughter had nothing to do with it, that it was just elements. It had to be, of course it couldn't be Harmony, the woman thought, forcing herself to try and believe her thoughts that it couldn't be Harmony who was controlling the elements.

But who was she kidding?

* * *

**Alright, no one kill me for not updating in sooo long! I'm really sorry! I've been uber tired and run down lately...i'm not really sure why, but I think it has soemthing to do with this 50 degree weather we've been having lately. So freezing! Anyway I've also been watching the olympics religiously, so I haven't gotten the chance to update! But, this is a loong chapter for all those who've waited, and plus, I updated my Beauty and the Beast fic so be glad! **

**Oh! And a few chapters ago, Harmony sang a song. The song is called Wasted, by Carrie Underwood. I changed alot of the lyrics, so if you look it up your going to be so surprised that the meaning isn't actually depressing, it's actually supposed to be like, a mood upper. :P Go figure. **

**P.S. I am on strike. No, not writing strike. Reviewing to Anima's story Misunderstood Melodies strike. Why? Because Anima mentioned she has no school this week, while I have school! So you know what? I'm mad at her. She get's to sleep in, but I don't! How mean is that?! Stupid Florida not getting any snow...**

**P.P.S. Guess what? So about a week ago i figured out something. The email I've been using for the past four years is mispelled. It's supposed to be SuRfergal283 (i made it in 6th grade, don't ask), but instead, I didn't add the R and i've been spelling it Sufergal283! FOUR YEARS! Gawd, I feel so stupid! FOUR YEARS and I just figured it out. Wow. That's a new stupid low. :P Oh well. I'm too lazy to change it now! **


	86. Confusion and Nightmarish Demons

"Why doesn't Harmony have to wake up?" A not so happy, half asleep nine year old grumbled as her mother gently shook her awake. Andrina smiled a moment at her daughter, before looking over at Harmony with a shake of her head, as the smile vanished from her features.

"Harmony doesn't have tide school." Andrina answered, trying to keep Serene from falling back asleep.

"Neither do _I_." Coral groaned, flopping backwards on her bed as she pulled her pillow over her face. Attina rolled her eyes, sitting on the side of her daughter's bed as she wrenched the pillow out of her grasp.

"But _you're _not going to spend all day sleeping." Attina answered, as her daughter, in turn, scowled half asleep at her mother.

"Buy _why_?" Myra scowled as heavily as her cousin, trying to maneuver her way back under the blanket of her comfy shell bed. Aquata wouldn't let her fifteen year old daughter though, as she took the blanket away from the girl.

"For reasons you'll understand when your older." Aquata answered her daughter, before looking over at the shell bed next to her oldest daughter. Her younger daughter Nina was already back asleep. "Come on Nina, it's time to wake up."

"No. I'm skipping school." Nina mumbled out, as she tried to fall back asleep by burying her face under her pillow. Aquata took the pillow away from the girl's fingers, causing the twelve year old to groan and bury her face in her arms.

"I'm with Nina on that one." Aza said, a dreamy, sleepy smile on her lips as her eyes closed and she fell backwards on her bed. Adella's brow's rose at her daughter's words, before an idea on how to wake the girl arose in her mind.

"But if you skip tide school, than you can't see any of the cute boys." The mother teased, as Aza stuck out her tongue at her mother, her eyes closed all the while as she turned on her side. Her mother always thought the girl had some type of boy in her life…but she never _did_!

"Who cares about boys when you can sleep?" Jess mumbled her hair a frizzy mess as she curled in her bed even deeper. Alana shook her head, sharing a look with her sisters as she shook the girl back awake.

When finally, all the girls—groaning and grumbling—were awake and swimming towards the giant vanity room, the mothers all stole a look at Harmony.

The girl was whimpering in her sleep, as her body was tangled up with the blanket. She kept moving back and forth, almost falling off the bed at times. Tears rolled down her face, and at times she whispered the word 'no'. But, what was terrifying was her face.

The night before no one had seen the girl all that well, because of her dark glasses covering her eyes, her jacket covering her arms, and the hood shadowing most of her face. But, for sleeping the girl had shed her jacket, and her glasses were missing from her face.

Fresh cuts lined both her arms in rapid succession. Her eyes were tinged a shocking shade of red, and they were smaller than usual from how much crying she'd been doing. Her face was pale, making her features stick out more in a scary manor. Even the scar that pierced right above the girl's heart looked worse than it usually would be.

"Should we wake her?" It was Andrina's soft, worried, even a bit frightened voice that rang out first among her sisters. It hurt her to see Harmony in so much pain…but what hurt her even worse was that the girl was sleeping in her mother's old bed…and she looked so much like the woman…but at the same time, so different.

"We should." Aquata said, though she made no move to wake Harmony. She had a memory of a girl just a year younger than Harmony; with fresh cuts aligning her own arms too…and it hurt her to see history repeat itself.

"What if she's having a nightmare about…that boy who…hurt her?" Adella asked, biting her lip in worry. 'That boy' could be anyone from Jared when Harmony was 16, or Alec, when she was only 14.

"If it is about him…them…than it must have hurt more than she let on." Alana noted quietly, letting her finger twirl with her sea weed rag curls in worry as she stared at her young niece.

"Everything hurts her more than she let's on." Arista's voice noted as well. Though she only had a son, she'd gone into the girl's room for a moment to see if anyone had checked up on Harmony…and apparently, they had. Or were.

"Just like Ariel." Attina finally said, her throat closing up at just the thought of it. She remembered when she'd first seen the slashes on her sister's arms…and how she'd truly been terrified. She was the oldest, always in control, always knowing what to do…and when Ariel had started cutting herself…she just didn't know what to do. Finally not being able to look at the heart wrenching look of fear Harmony had on her restless face, the woman moved forward to wake the girl.

But, the Queen was startled greatly when she just put her hand on the girl's shoulder. She hadn't even started to try and jostle the girl awake when the girl's eyes pushed open, and she shot up in the bed.

Her eyes had a wild look about them, and her breathing came out in short panting breaths. Her head turned from place to place, person to person, thing to thing, not recognizing a living soul. When Arista tentatively reached out a hand to her niece the girl flinched so hard that it immediately made the woman retract her hand, as though Harmony was some kind of wild beast. Whimpers escaped the girl's throat in rapid succession, as she shook in fear of the nightmare she'd just had.

No one knew what to do. They'd never had a child who'd had such vivid nightmares before. They'd never known someone to shoot up in bed, and have a wild look about them. The only person that they could think of that could know what to do was Ariel, but the mother was miles away. So Harmony's six Aunts just stared at the poor girl in a dumbfounded confusion, scared to get near her, but also worried what would happen if they didn't. But, there was one person in the palace that knew what to do.

Athena had offered to go see what was taking her daughters so long to help their children get ready for school. She swam leisurely into the old room, noticing at once how all six of her daughters (well, the still mermaid ones) were just standing there…staring at Harmony. They weren't even near the girl, they were just staring at her. And then Athena saw Harmony.

By now the girl was losing any grip she'd had on reality as she let her body give into the nightmares. The girl's mouth opened and closed a few times, not finding the right tone so that she could scream. Her eyes were wild, far away from the sea kingdom of Atlantica and trapped in another world…a far more dangerous and worse world. She clutched the blankets in her hands tightly, but Athena could see how the girl was just seconds away from clawing at her bare skin.

Swimming as fast as she could to the girl, Athena placed two tight hands on the girl's shoulders, forcing the girl to look into her face to see the worry and pleading for this to work.

"Harmony, it's alright. It's alright, you're awake." Athena said fiercely as she saw, recognition flicker across the teen's scared face. Good, she knew who she was, Athena thought. But if she even thought for one moment that Harmony was alright that Athena was even near her, she was sadly mistaken.

Awake and away from the demons of her dreams now, Harmony pushed her grandmother away from her with such force that if Athena hadn't seen it coming, she would surely have been sprawled on the ground. Mortification flickered across Harmony's face as she realized her Aunt's were staring at her as though she had grown a horn out of her forehead.

Harmony—with tears and burning cheeks—breathed in and out hard, shame filling her features. Backing up a few paces and finally letting her eyes settle for the ground, the girl shook her head, as though she was trying to clear it, before she swam like a bat out of hell…away from Atlantica.

* * *

**Just a quicky note here to explain something that i think you should all comment on. *Ahem* **

**Yesterday, my brother was going 36 in a 15 speed limit school zone. When the cop pulled him over, he looked at me in the backseat, before looking back at my brother and saying 'You just picked up from the school, didn't you?' The nearest school is the elementary school. I'm not sure what pisses me off more. The fact that my brother could have run over some poor little kid, or the fact that I was called an elementarys school kid. FML**

**I've got to post this up quickly; i'm leaving for school in like two minutes! It's currently 48 degrees outside; FREEZING! **

**REVIEW!**


	87. When There Was Me and You

The piano keys moved over Harmony's fingers in a melodious way. Her pain, her frustration, her broken heart just melted into the music. It hurt so bad…but the music enveloped her, soothing her pain, if only a little. Slowly, her voice rose with the song, the harmony and melody matching each other perfectly.

"_It's funny when you find yourself  
Looking from the outside  
I'm standing here but all I want  
Is to be over there  
_

How many times had the girl wished she wasn't so different? How many times had she hoped and dreamed that her life wasn't so strange? How many times had she just felt…out of place in court and in high school?

_Why did I let myself believe  
Miracles could happen  
Cause now I have to pretend  
That I don't really care  
_

Of course she cared. Of course she cared that her family, her _own_ _family, _had been gossiping about her. Of course she cared about each and every rumor that floated into her ears. But she pretended she didn't. Why? Because it was easier than saying how she really felt.

_  
I thought you were my fairytale  
A dream when I'm not sleeping  
A wish upon a star  
That's coming true  
_

Her new family had been like a blessing to her. No more late nights where she'd get beaten. No more nights were she'd cry herself to sleep out of fear that her door would slam open at any minute, revealing a drunken fool. Of course she'd been hurting that she'd have to leave her family (her parents might have been cruel, but every child is forced to love their parents), friends, and world cold turkey…but in a way, she'd been happy that she was finally going to have a real life.

_But everybody else could tell  
That I confused my feelings  
With the truth  
When there was me and you_

Everybody had known that it wouldn't last. Sooner or later she'd break down. Everybody had been waiting for this day for three years, the day where something happened and the girl was sent over the edge again. Everyone had known. Everyone but Harmony. When it'd been just her and Ryan, against the world, she'd held onto his presence like a security blanket. When he…died…it was like her last foot hold in her other world…was gone.

_  
I swore I knew the melody  
That I heard you singing  
And when you smiled  
You made me feel  
Like I could sing along  
_

She was going to marry John. Literally, she'd been in the dressing room of the wedding barge, with her dress slung over a chair neatly, just waiting for the girl to slip into it. And at the time, she'd been thinking that her state championship was a new beginning. A time when her life would change all around. She'd be married to John, and everything would be alright. She'd gotten a grip on her powers, her depression…and her brother's death.

_But then you went and changed the words  
Now my heart is empty  
I'm only left with "used-to-be's"  
Once upon a song_

And then…then it'd been that letter from Ryan. That letter he'd written to explain to her that hey, it was all a joke. Her nightmares had been a result of a cruel joke. And with that, her world had started to crumble around her. She saw the video of how her happy go lucky self…had been changed drastically with just one night. She was sent away from home, forced into a still unfamiliar and a little scary place for the girl. She'd learned her own family gossiped about her…when she wasn't around. She learned that because her grandmother hadn't been strong enough to deal with her powers, she'd sent them away to her granddaughter. Everything the girl had thought about in that hour before she'd be married…had vanished.

_  
Now I know you're not a fairytale  
And dreams were meant for sleeping_

Her dreams of one day being a journalist for a famous newspaper were gone. Her dreams of a happy family life were gone. Her dreams of just a peaceful, quiet, no violent uprootings any longer…were gone. This wasn't supposed to happen. Girl meets real family, girl feels hurt and runs away, girl finally feels at home and happily ever after. That's what it was supposed to be like. There's not supposed to be a sequel, a threequel, a fourquel, and a fivequel…it's just supposed to end.

_  
And wishes on a star  
Just don't come true  
_

She'd wished for her happiness back…well, look at her then and now. She never got it. Oh sure, she'd gotten a few days worth of happiness. But in the long run, had it stuck? Well, considering she was in her own secret 'grotto', it was safe to say that it hadn't.

_Cause now even I can tell  
That I confused my feelings  
With the truth  
_

Everyone had figured out that her good phases wouldn't last. And now, finally, so had Harmony. Nothing ever lasted. Because, in the end, everyone died. In the end, happily ever after wouldn't happen. You could hope and wish it would…but it wouldn't. 'Happily ever after' was better left for fairy tales.

_Because I liked the view  
When there was me and you  
_

She'd fallen in love with the idea of a happy life after she was married. She'd fallen in love with the idea that everything would just somehow figure itself out. But that's not what happened. It would never happen. Because life was unpredictable…and no matter how hard Harmony worked at it, she was always going to be a at the bottom, staring up at the op and wishing she was up there.

_  
I can't believe that  
I could be so blind  
_

She felt like an idiot, for not realizing any of this before. She should have looked closer, tried to find that note. She should have looked closer at her life, and she shouldn't have forgotten that thinking when she was fourteen, when she had figured out it was all a pattern. She should have realized it. She'd been blinded by her own idiocy.

_It's like you were floating  
While I was falling  
And I didn't mind  
_

It's like…she'd figured out the pattern, and she knew it would repeat…but she'd pushed aside those thoughts, and tried to deal with her life. She shouldn't have though. She should have told her parents how she was scared the pattern would repeat. If she would have told Ariel…the woman would have held her…kissed her and told her she was so sorry the girl felt that way. Her fears would have been soothed by the gentle strokes of her mother's hand…and then, maybe, Harmony wouldn't have gone to Nebraska that night. And Ryan would have just given up on trying to cheer her up. And everything would have been so much easier. But she hadn't. And for that, her life was a mess.

_  
Because I liked the view  
I thought you felt it too  
When there was me and you." _

"I hate this." Harmony whispered, her throat closing up as she rested her head on the piano keys…and slowly sobbed out the pain in her heart.

* * *

**Okay, so don't kill me for not updating in awhile. I haven't exactly been willing to write another depressing chapter about Harmony, but I know that you guys have been wanting to read something else, so here it is! Hopefully i'll be able to update another chapter of this story, my Ariel story, and the BATB story tonight, so keep your fingers crossed! **

**I'm watching Men's two man luge right now...it's actually really good! I wish i could do that...then again, knowing me, I'ld probably just hurt myself if I tried, lol! **

**So the medal count is officially 22 medals for Usa, and I think it was 15 for Germany, who's in second place. As you can see, America is leading by alot! **

**Do you know what? I have officially figured all this out. I am going to marry Shaun White, pro snowboarder and two time gold olympian in trick snowboarding, and I'm going to have little mermaid haired kids! Isn't that going to be great?! **

**Don't forget to review!!!!!!!!!111**


	88. But

"I know this is horrible timing, and I know you hate me right now…but *sigh*…I'm…worried about you." Athena's soft voice floated into the cave, as Harmony lifted her head up from the piano keys, her body stiffening at the voice. She sniffled once, trying to keep back the rest of her tears.

"I-I don-don't hate y-you." Harmony's broken voice said. She'd tried. She'd tried hard. Very hard to hate Athena…but she couldn't find herself to do it.

"You don't?" Athena asked in surprise, swimming closer to Harmony in the cave, as she stopped at one of the posters, near Harmony, but not near enough. How could Harmony not hate her? The woman hated herself for what she'd done to the child…so how could Harmony not do the same?  
"I-I was li-like you. Scared…b-beaten…hu-hurt. I-I know what i-it's like. If-if you ha-hadn't burned th-the spell…I wo-would hav-have used it." Harmony's voice whispered out, trying to swallow her tears. She knew what it felt like to be like Athena had been…hell, if the woman hadn't burned the spell, she would've used it herself

"...wow." Athena's voice managed to choke out. She'd been expecting a teenager who was like an angry seaquake. Instead...Harmony was just...okay with it. It was a bit unnerving, and a bit scary at the same to see the girl so...okay with something. "Th-Thank you." The former Queen tripped over her words, blinking in shock. She'd never expected the girl to be so...alright with this.

"I-I...will you e-ever tell them?" Harmony was getting more control over her voice now, but she didn't turn around to Athena. The woman knew what the girl was speaking of though.

"Maybe someday...but...you've seen how they are. They wouldn't understand; they would just judge...and it would be an unfair judgment." Athena winced slightly, thinking about that. It was a secret she had to keep from her family.

Her daughters would just turn against her, each of them saying 'What if it'd been _**me**_?!' Their husbands would just side with them, knowing if they didn't they'd been sleeping on the floor. The children would fear her and start to hate her, because they'd see their parents do the same. And Triton...her dear, beloved Triton...he would never look at her the same way, as he'd be too hurt that she kept a secret from him so long...and that she had forced something onto Harmony's young, unknowing shoulders. Perhaps the only two people who would still continue on as though nothing had happened would be Ali and Harmony; Ali because she knew that since Harmony had gotten the powers, she was saved, and Harmony because the girl knew what it was like...to be so scared...and to do the most foolish things that as an adult you'd regret. No, it was better not to tell...even Harmony knew that.

It was quiet in the old cave. Athena didn't know what else to say...and for once, neither did Harmony. The only sound that there really was in the cave was Harmony slightly hiccupped breathing, from sobbing so hard. She'd been in pain before because of what could have been...but...well, that was just it. But. She didn't know where to go from there.

She had no more excuses. She couldn't blame this on her parents—both adopted, and real—any longer. She couldn't blame this on Alec. She couldn't blame it on being a nobody sixth grader. She couldn't blame it on those kids—the ones that she'd described once upon a time to Melody as her friends before her coming out ball— for drifting away from her. She couldn't blame it on Ryan dying. She couldn't blame it on Athena. She couldn't blame it on being two girls, in two different worlds. She couldn't blame it on Lucas, or Mariah. She couldn't blame it on her aunts, or nine year old Serene for wondering. She couldn't blame it on Morgana, or Amaranth, or her powers.

She'd run out of people to blame...and now...now she was just left with the one person who she should have blamed from the very beginning of this roller-coaster-just-a-sonata-away-broken-waltz-sketching-arpeggio's-silent-duet-and-love's-a-rhapsody-ride. She should have just blamed...herself.

How many times had just...cried? Instead of crying...she should have gone out, changed her life. Yes, there were times when it'd been horrifying, heartbreaking, love dying, and just plain stupid....but after the initial shock, she should have stood her ground, looked her parents, her sister, her brother in the eye...and told them that she wasn't going to be pushed around like she'd been all her life. Instead though...she'd just cried her heart out, thinking she could do nothing more. Well, she refused to be like a puppy who'd been hit one too many times any longer.

"You know...you could bring back your brother...since it wasn't intentional." Athena noted quietly, finally getting enough nerve to move over to where Harmony was, and rest her chin in a motherly fashion above the girl's head.

Harmony knew what she was talking about. She could bring Ryan back alive, since he hadn't intentionally tried to kill himself. She could put an end to her emptiness without him...she could bring him back alive, invite him to stay at the palace—as long as she was happy, Ariel and Eric wouldn't mind—still be his little sister. She could make it all better, by just gathering more ingredients. She had a better control over her powers now; she probably wouldn't almost kill herself trying to bring him back. She knew how to perform spells with more ease, and she knew that her family would back her up one hundred and fifty percent. She could be finally, at peace with herself, with her brother, with the world. No more nights spent at his grave or birthday celebrations where she's singing 'Happy Birthday' to a headstone. But...

There it was again. That word. She could do all those things. She could do all those things and more. She could be so happy...but...just but...

Turning to Athena, Harmony looked up at the woman with a light in her eyes that no one had seen for the past four years. Not since that fateful night when she was a thirteen year old girl, dancing around her room and proclaiming herself Princess Kathy of America.

"You know what? I could bring him back...but..." Here a small smile played on Harmony's lips, as she finally realized what Ryan had meant when he said in his letter that Harmony should go live with her real family. "I don't need him anymore."

* * *

**Okay, so before you kill me for not updating this again last night, I have a good excuse. I fell asleep. So there! And, to make up for it, I have updated ALL my stories tonight! I mean, my BATB fic, this story, AND my Ariel fic, so be happy! **

**I was going for shock value in this chapter. Because I know everyone is so used to the angry and depressed side of Harmony that you'd expect her to react in the same way she always does. And I did note on that, in this chapter. And then about Ryan...well, I know alot of you would think she should bring him back...but I think, like xJadeRainx once mentioned, you shouldn't mess with time. Harmony was lucky with Athena, you know, that nothing bad happened from bringing her back, but she might not be so lucky with Ryan. And now she finally realizes that her life is...well, you read it! **

** Ooh, you know what was my favorite part? When I said all the story titles! I was like, freaking out while writing it! Aren't I so weird?!**

**So read this story, my Ariel story, AND my Batb fic, and please, if you want to survive till morning, REVIEW!**

**P.S. Also, Evil Bunnies with Cookies made me chocolate chip cookies! And they doo taste very good! :DDD **


	89. A Tired Teenager, & Worried Thoughts

"Mom?" It was a tired voice that quietly called out, as Ariel's eyes blinked and darted upwards, as Eric's did the same. Both parent's eyes went wide as they realized who the owner of the tired voice was.

Harmony leaned against the door post of the study, her eyes drooping from sheer exhaustion. Her soaking wet clothes—jeans, a faded shirt that said 'Red Heads Do it Better', and bare feet—dripped onto the carpeted floor. Her blue eyes managed to open far enough so that she could see her parents, before she yawned—not bothering to cover her mouth—and rested her head against the door post with closed eyes.

"Harmony?!" Eric's voice was the first to break the silence, as he stared with wide blue eyes and a mouth agape at his child—who was supposed to be miles away—was standing at the doorway to the study, half asleep, and soaking wet.

"Harmony Althea Benson you're supposed to be in Atlantica!" Ariel's voice finally managed to gasp; pushing her chair away from the desk as she nearly ran to her daughter. Up close she could see the bloodshot eyes Harmony had...and the cuts that could only be a day or two old on her arms. Taking Harmony's arm in horror, Ariel let her fingers trace against the deep wounds that would surely leave horrible scars.

"Why are you—how could do—your arms are so—Harmony, what on earth..." Ariel didn't know how to say anything more than the words she choked out in horror. She thought Harmony had promised to stop cutting after the last time she...ranaway. But...the girl was so exhausted...and a faint trace of some type of drink could be smelled on her...

"What happened?" It was Eric's rumbling voice that asked it, but still gentle as he stared in shock at his daughter. Dark circles protruded from under her eyes, a sure sign that sleep hadn't been her first priority for awhile now.

"I wanted to talk to you guys about *yawn*...this thing I figured out...and-and I just wanted to come back home...but, like..." Harmony was too tired to form coherent sentences. She'd gotten maybe an hour's worth of sleep the night before, because she had stayed up late, trying to avoid her nightmares.

Ariel and Eric exchanged an uneasy glance. Talk to them about what? And why did the girl want to come home so badly? And her arms....and she smelled like...like...a type of strong drink...very faintly, of course, but still there...and then there was the matter that she also smelled very strongly of salt water, which she was dripping all over the fine material of the carpet...

"You can talk to us after you rest." Eric ultimately decided, noticing how his daughter gave a yawn and nodded, thickly half asleep. A wan smile played on the edges of Eric's lips as he noticed this, and he shook his head at the girl, before leaning down to kiss the top of her red head.

"Okayyyy...." Harmony let the word slide off her tongue in an almost slur like fashion, as she was just so exhausted. The nightmares would plague her in her sleep for sure, but for now, sleep was the key word in that statement.

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath sweetheart?" Ariel bit her bottom lip for a moment, worried about what her daughter had to say to her parents. Though the woman loved her child...she had the feeling whatever Harmony had to say wasn't going to be good. Perhaps the girl had decided she could no longer live in this world, and wanted to go back to Nebraska. The thought pierced at Ariel's heart as a brief grimace fell across her face at that. Never to see her daughter, who'd be in another world, again...the thought was more painful than anyone could imagine.

"Yeahhh....okayyy..." Harmony's voice said, as the girl tiredly tried to stay awake long enough to take a bath, or at least not crash onto the floor. Yawning, the girl backed out of the study, and headed to her own room.

"What is she doing _here_?" Ariel muttered to herself, running her fingers through her red hair in shock. Harmony was supposed to be in Atlantica, with her Aunts, not in Shireland! Of course, Ariel loved her daughter and she wanted the girl here, but with all of the problems the girl had gone through in Shirleland...Ariel had thought it be better if she was far away from here!

"Do you think there was a problem in Atlantica?" Eric's quiet voice asked, as Ariel grimaced at just the thought of it.

"Doubtful. Someone would have told me by now if there was..." Ariel bit her lip, pressing her fingers against her head which was now pounding. Honestly, just minutes with Harmony and her head was pounding...with good reason actually.

"Well...then what are we going to do?" Eric asked, running his fingers through his own black hair as he winced slightly. He thought that Harmony was getting along fine in Atlantica...and then here she shows up, dripping wet and looking awful. Ariel gave a heavy sigh at that.

"I guess all that we can do is...just...just...wait for her to tell us what she needs to tell us." Ariel said with a sigh, shaking her red head before looking back up at her husband. "I'm going to go see if she's sleeping yet." Ariel said with a sigh, before looking back up at her husband with a thin smile. "Let me see if she's sleeping. I'll be back in a little bit, alright?" Ariel said, rubbing her temples as her migraine soared to new heights.

"Alright darling." Eric said with a thin smile as well, taking a long sip of wine along with Ariel. Why? Mostly because they both had gigantic migraines from worrying about their daughter.

What was going on with that girl?

* * *

**So, I'm UBER sorry for not updating in forever! But the past two days I've been faking sick so I wouldn't have to go to school (Thank you Ferris Bueler!) and I really haven't gotten the chance to update this story! But, to make up for it, I'm updating two chapters right now, and most likely one later, so that's THREE chapters in one day! So be happy! XD **

**I'm trying not to go past 100 chapters, but It's getting tough! Would you guys mind if I went past 100 chapters? I know it's going to be an uber long story (when in reality I had planned it to only be like 30 chapters) but there's so much I need to put in! And I'm thinking of a sequel to this story, THE VERY LAST SEQUEL, PROMISE, but I can't say really anything more than it's about Harmony's married life. Oh! I'm also doing a prequel (I just can't stop this story, I know, I hope you don't mind) about when Ariel lost Harmony...the first time, when she was a baby. Tell me your thoughts on this sequel and prequel that i'm THINKING of doing. Should I go through with it, or not? I let Harmony's story lay in your reviewing fingers! **

**....Cause now it's Judy's turn to cry, Judy's turn to cry, Judy's turn to cryyyy, 'cause Johnny's come backkkk....to ME...**

**Sorry, I've had that song stuck in my head forever! DAMN YOU XJADERAINX and your oldies hits! :((**


	90. A Cute Moment

"Boo." It was a single word, spoken right next to John's ear. The boy gave a startled gasp as the book he was reading fell to the ground. Looking up, his mouth fell open as he saw Harmony—with her glasses on—resting her arms on the chair as she grinned down at him.

"Are you going to stare, or are you going to kiss me?" The girl asked, smiling. As far as she knew, she'd been sleeping for awhile, or at least that's what it felt like. But it wasn't the nightmarish sleep she was accostomed to...no, it was peaceful rest. Why? The girl had no clue. She also knew that she had to talk to Ariel and Eric about what happened in Atlantica...but she wanted to see John first. And with good reason, because as soon as John finally caught a hold of himself and immediately jumped up, sweeping Harmony in a long kiss. The girl closed her eyes, letting her fiancée continue with his sweet kiss, until they both broke apart for oxygen.

"Harmony! I-I—your parents said that you'd gone to...your grandfather's, under the sea—and-and I mean, I didn't know when you'd come back—but you're here now—and _Harmony_!" John stumbled over his words, as he looked up at Harmony with a light in his eyes. He'd been wondering when she'd come back....

"I've still got to...sort some things out with my parents, but I wanted to see you before I did. Gawd, you _cannot_ believe how much I've missed you!" Harmony finally said, flopping down onto the comfy couch, and coincidentally John just so happened to sit right next to her.

"What do you need to tell your parents?" John wondered, as Harmony curled into his arms, letting out a sigh of contentment. John always felt like...home. Why? Because the girl knew she could tell him anything—anything at all—and he wouldn't try to understand. No, he'd make sure he understood, and even if he didn't, he'd still hold her and say that he did.

"Just my new...revelation." Harmony murmured, closing her eyes as she felt John's hands slide through her red hair.

"What revelation?" John asked quietly, letting his hands slide from Harmony's hair to lower down her body. The girl was wearing, for once, a dress. And what was surprising was that her hair was loose, instead of pulled back in a simple, yet somehow elegant braid. Of course, the girl just had to top it off with her worn down converse though.

"Just...okay, don't think I'm weird or anything...but..." Harmony bit her lip then, sitting up as she tried to figure out what words she could use to explain this to John. The boy patiently waited for Harmony to continue, but when it seemed she wouldn't go on anymore, he casually switched subjects.

"My birthday in two days. My mother has been sending me constant letters saying how sorry she is that she won't be able to come and see me...thankfully." John said with an easy going smile, as Harmony gave a giggle. A giggle. Who else could make her giggle like a freaking idiot? Only John.

"I guess that means I have to get you a present. What do you want?" Harmony wondered, a mischief in her eyes and a small smirk on her mouth. John just grinned that lazy smile of his at hers, before tugging on that blue streak in her hair. Ariel was starting to threaten to cut off Harmony's blue streak of hair, since the girl had said it was only supposed to last for two months...in September. It was March. For some reason, the streak of electric blue in bright red hair drove Ariel crazy, along with Harmony biting her nails, Harmony slumping, Harmony not using correct grammar...lately the seventeen year old was seeing a trend in the list of things that really pissed Ariel off.

"You." John answered simply, as Harmony's brows furrowed for a moment, not understanding what he could mean. But then that signature devilish grin came onto John's features, with a an eyebrow quirked upwards in a very...sexual fashion, and the girl knew what he was saying...and she also knew what her father was going to do to her if she did.

"Eric would throw a hissy fit, and not to mention the fact that Ariel would probably smack me into next week." Harmony said, shaking her head at John who gave her a teasing smile.

"And since when do you follow the rules? I thought you were a rebel. Go against the flow kind of girl, the type that likes to piss off her parents..." John's voice trailed off as Harmony rolled her eyes and sucker punched him in the stomach, making him laugh because honestly, the girl didn't hit him too hard.

"If Eric here's you saying this, he's going to kill you. Actually, that might be kind of funny..." Harmony trailed off with a sadistic smile spreading across her lips, as John clutched at his heart, as though he was in pain.

"Oh! See how she wounds me with her words!" John cried out, still clutching at his heart as he fell backwards on the couch, playing dead. Harmony couldn't help it; she laughed lightly, before leaning over him and brushing away his messy brown hair.

"Even _Romeo _would say that your too sensitive, lover boy." Harmony teased, still leaning over John, and she knew that if he tilted his head just a certain way, he could see her chest. This is why she smacked him playfully upside the head when he did. He just grinned up at her.

"If I can't have you for my birthday, than can't I just have a peak?" John asked, his chocolate brown eyes dancing in a teasing fashion as Harmony rolled her eyes at him. He didn't mean it, the girl knew. He would never pressure her into doing something she wasn't completely comfortable with.

"Not until our wedding night." Harmony teased, making sure she heard John give a good natured groan before adding her next line. "But, for now, I'll give you a consolation prize." Harmony acknowledged with a wicked smile. John's brows rose up in wonder as to what his fiancée had in mind...before Harmony leaned her head down and let her lips meet his in one of the most 'WOW' kisses of John's life.

"I-I'm good with that." John managed to pant out as they finally broke apart, Harmony still leaning over him with a huge smile on her features, though she too was noticing her lack of air.

"Come on _amante niño_. I still need to talk to my parents, and _your_ coming with me." Harmony said, sitting up, and then pulling John up with her back on the couch. If Eric found them in that position before...well, let's just say John would be on a straight path to heaven in a matter of moments.

"Amante niño?" John wondered in a thick gringo accent, as Harmony stood up, and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Lover boy, in Spanish." Harmony translated, grinning widely as John shot her a clear mock upset look at that. Letting her fingers intertwine with his, Harmony walked out of the library to find her parents, with John's voice ringing in her ear:

"I'm not a boy! I'm a man!"

Harmony just gave a wicked grin at John at that.

* * *

**See! Another chapter! And it's a cute chapter, so most of you will probably be happy with this! XD PLease review, or i'll make sure my assasins will kill you!**

**Oh! Want to know a really funny youtube video? It's called Llamas with hats, episode one! I swear I couldn't stop laughing once I saw it! Check it out, it's seriously HILARIOUS. Or maybe that's just me, because I have a stupid sense of humor...hm...**

**Oh! And the movie Dodgeball is on tonight! YES! Can't wait to see it! It's at like, 5:00 on that channel that comes before comedy central. You know the one I'm talking about, right? **

**See this is what you look at when your faking sick...**


	91. Lacie To the Rescue

"Seriously, is it just me, or are you guys _always_ in here?" Harmony said with a snort, motioning around her to the study as both her parents' heads shot up at the sound of her voice. The girl easily maneuvered her way through the study, dragging a sheepish John behind her, before plopping down on one of the couches.

"Harmony use proper—we're not always—oh for Poseidon's sake, do you _enjoy _giving me a migraine?" Ariel wondered, pressing her hand against her now aching forehead. Honestly, the girl came here yesterday, soaking wet and half asleep, and then she comes in today—with John—and she's completely sarcastic. It was like she _wanted _to send Ariel to an early grave!

"Depends on my mood." Harmony answered simply. "Right now, yes, actually I do." Harmony's simple words made Ariel's eyes flash for a moment, before the mother sighed, pushing away the paperwork as she knew that she wasn't going to get to doing it any time soon.

"Why are you here Harmony?" Eric asked with a sigh, rubbing his temples with two fingers each as he felt his own migraine starting to rise up. It was as though his daughter planned on this; just being sarcastic or downright disrespectful because she knew that she could get away with it. And _why_ was Jonathan here?!

"I'm pretty sure I'm here because you and mom had sex, but I can't be certain." Harmony answered, pursing out her lips as she thought about it. Both parents' cheeks flared up red, as they shared an embarrassed look with one another.

"Harmony..." Ariel's warning tone rang out, the red from her cheeks starting to fade a little bit at Harmony's words. But the anger in Eric's eyes that Harmony was sitting with John's arms around her was just starting to flare up.

"Sit up straight young lady, and answer me correctly. Why aren't you in Atlantica?" Usually, it took much for Eric to get to the point where he was using a furious tone that was somehow kept calm. But with Harmony, it took only a matter of moments before she had her father in a rage. Still, the girl knew that tone spelled trouble, so she quickly sat up, brushing John's arms away from her—though the boy still sat next to her—and answered her father.

"I..." Well, she _partly_ answered her father. The girl hadn't thought till now what excuse she'd give for not being in Atlantica. Quickly, she started wracking her brain for some type of lie, as her mother tapped her fingers against the desk, not amused whatsoever as her red brows went high. Eric stared straight at his daughter, his gaze never wavering as he waited for her to say why she was in Shireland. And John's brown eyes flickered back between Harmony's parents, and the girl himself, as he knew this was not going to be good.

"Well?" Ariel finally prompted, her blue eyes boring a hole into Harmony's as the girl gulped, trying to figure out a lie—and fast. As it was Ariel was about to drag the girl upstairs to her room, and force out the truth from her, and Harmony couldn't let that happen because she couldn't betray Athena, who'd always been there for her.

Just as Eric's mouth opened to suggest that Harmony start speaking soon, or she'd be grounded for awhile, there was a timid knock at the study door.

"Come in." Ariel answered the knock, breaking the tense silence in the room as she broke her gaze off her daughter, and looked to the door. Slowly, the door opened, revealing a timid servant with a tray of tea.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, your majesties, but it _is_ time for tea..." Lacie bit her lip, dipping into a low curtsey in front of her King and Queen, as Harmony gave a silent sigh of relief. Thank goodness; now she had more time to think of an excuse.

"It is? I hardly noticed..." Eric muttered, mostly to himself as he looked at the clock...but just to find that his view was blocked from it as Lacie was standing in the way. "Very well." The King finally said, waving the maid to serve tea and then leave when she was done. And the girl, who looked strangely like xJadeRainx, title contest winner, nodded, her cheeks flushing in a little embarrassment as she went about her duty.

"Jonathan, your mother sent me a letter saying that your birthday is in two days! We're going to celebrate it with a ball!" Ariel's chipper voice finally spoke, breaking the tension in the room again by switching subjects now that Lacie was in the room. She didn't need any servants gossiping about her family—not that it stopped them anyway.

"By 'we' that doesn't include me, riiight?" John asked, slowly as he hoped it didn't include him. He _hated_ parties. Why? He didn't know. He just wasn't one for parties, which had aggravated his parents to no degree when he was younger and threw tantrums.

"Of _course_ it includes you." Ariel said, brushing off the boy's groan like it was nothing, and taking the tea cup that was full of tea from Lacie, nodding her thanks to the girl before looking back at John.

"But you're not alone." Eric sympathized with the boy. He too had once been a lad of seventeen years....who preferred not to have party. Actually, he _still_ didn't share the enthusiasm his wife did with them. But he grinned and bared it. "Harmony has to go too." Eric waited for the groan to come out of Harmony at that, but when he realized there wasn't any groan, he shrugged it off as the girl finally coming to terms with the reality that she had to go to balls, and she couldn't just hide away from the world the rest of her life.

"Mother told you, didn't she?" John asked, another groan being emitted from his mouth as he accepted his own tea cup from Lacie, who then moved onto a spaced out Harmony. But when Harmony reached out to accept her own tea cup (she preferred a Frappucino any day, but Ariel had insisted more than once that the girl should drink tea)...she just didn't fell a small glass shaped weirdly...no, she felt...a paper?

Quickly making sure the focus wasn't on her, the girl expertly moved her body so that the paper wasn't showing, and she could read whatever it said. Thank you boring Algebra, the girl thought, remembering all the times she passed notes in that class and had to hide it from the teacher.

Harmony, use this excuse: You're not in Atlantica because you missed your family and felt like you didn't belong there.

Hope this helps

Lacie

Harmony made her face impassive, though when she looked up there was a glimmer of shock in her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes and Lacie's made contact, and the maid shyly smiled at the girl, keeping her head bent low and her eyes on placing some tea treats on the low table.


	92. Vulnerability Breach

When Lacie finally left the study with a quick curtsey, and Harmony quickly burned the note in her hand, the conversation suddenly stopped, and all eyes turned back on Harmony.

"I'm waiting." Ariel finally said, making sure the door was shut so that no curious ears could hear this conversation with her daughter. Harmony looked up at her mother, her eyes flickering between both her parents as her brows went up.

"Um...okay. And I'm Kath—er, Harmony. Glad we know each other." Ariel dug her fingernails into her skin as she tried hard not to let her anger flare up. She let out a heavy breath, wondering why her daughter was being so difficult with this as she shook her head at the girl.

"Harmony Althea Benson don't be smart with your mother." Eric snapped at his daughter, as she blinked, about to take those words completely out of context before she felt John nudge her in the ribs, as though to say 'just do as they say'. "Answer us already Harmony. Why did you leave Atlantica so suddenly?" Eric's voice cut like steel, which made Harmony give a quick shudder, considering she wasn't so great with steel...or anything really.

"Okay...don't think I'm doing this to be an idiot or anything but...I...I just don't fit in down there...and...and...I did actually miss you guys...and this place." Harmony's eyes darted anywhere but her family—including John—as she lifted her legs up and rested her arms on top of her knees. Where had that come from, the girl wondered, before sighing, and continuing on. "And...like...before I left I figured some things out...and I think...I'm finally okay...with my life, both of them. I mean...it's been tough but...I'm alright now, I guess." Harmony could feel the tears in her eyes, but she refused to cry them. It wasn't that she was sad...it was just...she was finally coming to terms with herself...and it'd been a difficult road, which still wasn't over, but for now, she was alright. She was okay.

"Oh honey." Ariel's annoyance, anger, and irritation melted away as she sat on the other side of her daughter, and wrapped her arms around the girl, stroking her red hair as though she was a little girl. "I'm glad you feel alright with everything... but really, you make it sound as though you're going through this all alone." Ariel's smooth voice said, as Harmony looked blearily up at her mother, her eyes still wet with the tears she wouldn't cry.

"I'm not?" The girl wondered, as her brows furrowed in confusion. Ariel and Eric both sighed at that.

"Harmony, we're your _family_." Eric emphasized, reaching over to kiss his daughter's red head.

"So?"

"_So_, it means that even when it looks like your all alone, you're not, because we're still here." John's soft voice added, as Harmony blinked back her shock at this. All her life...she'd gotten used to being independent, doing things on her own, for her own well being...but she'd never really tried co-dependency, leaning on her family for support. And...It looked like it was really going to be okay.

"See honey? Your family is always here." Ariel murmured, stroking Harmony's red hair as she kissed the girl in a motherly fashion, not willing to let her go.

"Bu-but...what about...you know...me leaving you at the altar?" Harmony asked, before almost slapping herself. How could she bring up such a bad memory? Still, as she wiggled out from Ariel's arms and allowed herself to stay in John's, which were even better, she saw him shrug.

"Water under the bridge." John said, completely fine with what had happened at the wedding. "Besides, this way we have another month until the wedding to..." John's voice immediately trailed off when he saw Eric's deadly glare that basically said 'One more word from your mouth, _boy_, and I'll make sure it's your last.' It was truly frightening.

"Oh! Right! The wedding!" That was Ariel's new favorite subject. Alright, so the first one hadn't gone that great...but now, this time, the second was going to be even better! Maybe she could convince her daughter to move into a larger room, since she'd be with John after the wedding.

Honestly, the girl had plain out refused to move out of her room when Ariel had told her that she should. Why? "Because I like my room, and it's already huge as it is." Ariel had no clue how the girl could think her old, girl room would be appropriate for herself and John after the wedding, when she was a woman! But the girl claimed that she was comfortable in her old room, which was really annoying Ariel. Maybe now that there was going to be a second wedding she could convince Harmony that there were more, bigger rooms in the palace, and the girl could inhabit any of them...

"Nice job." Harmony hissed to John, as her mother started going a million miles an hour about the wedding. John gave a sheepish smile to Harmony at that, as Ariel grasped Harmon's arm and pulled the girl back up to a sitting position, so that the mother and daughter could talk. "Mom, can't we just do something...simple? I mean, not so...big?" Harmony asked, her eyes pleading for that to happen. Unfortunately, Ariel wasn't one simplicity.

"Harmony, asking your mother to do something simple is like...well, I can't think of something match up to that." Eric said wearily, as his wife shot him an eye roll. Ariel could do simple...kind of. Not really. Alright, alright, not when it had to do with one of her daughters, especially Harmony.

"There's so much to do!" Ariel muttered to herself, pushing back her red hair as she thought it out. This wedding was going to be more pressed for time, but hell, if anyone could plan it, she definitely could.

"Good job." Harmony hissed again, as Ariel started to go off on talking about how much there was to do in the wedding. John just rolled his eyes at his fiancée, but in a teasing manner.

"She's _your _mother." John shot back, removing his hands from around Harmony's waist as Eric shot him another look.

"And like yours is any better." Harmony said under her breath, slowly, with John, starting to make her escape out of the Study.

"True, so true." John whispered, as him and Harmony finally escaped the study, and gave each other wry looks at that.

"Library?" The girl asked in a quiet voice, the one word acting as a question.

"Anywhere, as long as it's with you." John answered, as Harmony shot him a dazzling smile at that. Stepping up on her toes, the girl pressed her lips against John's, in a sort of thank-you way, for still being with her, even after she'd left him at the altar, and he'd found out about her past...well, the girl thought he clearly deserved some type of thank you.

* * *

**Will talk later...so tired...wannt to sleep...**


	93. Hot Chocolate in Bed

A light, tapping sounded at the completely shut door. Harmony's eyes flickered upwards for a moment, wondering who on earth would be knocking on her door at this time. All the servants knew better than to knock on the girl's door when she had retired for the night, with a warm fire going in her room—since it was a cold spring night—and usually doing homework, which made her annoyed, which made her ready to rip off anyone's heads without a second thought. Of course, since it was spring break the girl didn't have any homework to do, but everyone knew better than to come near the Princess at night...or in the morning.

"Harmony? Sweetheart, it's me. Open up; I brought you some hot chocolate." Ariel's voice floated to Harmony's ears, a bit muffled from the fact that the mother was standing on the other side of the doorway. With a small, mystified look in her eyes, Harmony let her two fingers do the tiniest of flicking motions, as her door immediately swung wide open.

"I thought you might like something to drink." Ariel explained, shutting her daughter's door softly behind her, as she then glided to the girl, who was tucked into bed already.

"Sweet. Thanks!" Harmony said eagerly, taking the steaming cup from her Mother and immediately sipping it down. She'd gone out with John just an hour or so before, for a walk around the castle grounds...which had ended with them both getting hopelessly lost, and Harmony having to fly upwards to figure out where exactly they were. Figures, huh? "Mhmm. It's so _good_! Tell Louie that it this rocks!"

"Actually honey...I made it myself." That stopped Harmony's sipping in mid sip, as the girl stared bug eyed at her mother. Ariel took on a look of an offended person. "I used to help Louie out in the kitchen, for fun, before you and Melody were born. I wasn't _always _this boring sweetie." Ariel said, finishing with a laugh as she saw Harmony warily look at her mother as though she was from...what had the girl called it again? Planet...oh! Right! Krypton! "Anyway honey...I was wondering if we could have a little talk." Ariel's voice was gentle as the wind, but it immediately made her daughter look up at her with suspicion.

"Oh no." The girl groaned, flopping back on her pillow as Ariel hurriedly brought her hand to the hot cup, balancing it so that it didn't fall all over her daughter. "The last time we had a 'little talk' it was about my new friend visiting me. Oh, and you forgot to mention that she brought along some friends too. Cramps and headaches." Harmony groaned again, hoping this wouldn't another one of those talks. Ariel tried not to laugh, but it was hard an ultimately she gave up and did laugh out loud at her daughter's reaction.

"It's not about anything like that this time darling. It's something different, I promise." Ariel said with an assured tone and laugh, tucking a wayward strand of her daughter's loose red hair behind her ear.

"Alright...then what's up?" Harmony asked, her eyes wondering to her mother as to what this 'little talk' was about. Mentally the girl went over a list of things that she'd done recently...no...no...Ariel didn't know about any of them...yet. But she was probably going to find that broken vase sooner or later...

"I know you were lying earlier, about why you left Atlantica so suddenly, honey." Ariel said in a soft tone, busily grabbing her daughter's brush which, thankfully, was neatly placed on the nightstand. Most likely, it'd been placed there by the maid who'd tidied up Harmony's room this morning...but really, it was a wasted effort. By the morning Harmony's room would be a mess again; that's why no one really bothered to tidy things up in it—most especially Harmony.

"How?" Harmony asked, generally surprised. She'd thought her performance had been spectacular, definitely Oscar worthy! Ariel ran her fingers through the loose red locks of her daughter's hair, before sighing and shaking her head, as she started to brush out the girl's hair. Really, was it so hard to ask that Harmony _try_ and brush out her hair every now and then?

"Sweetheart, I'm a mother. You can't fool me by making some excuse. Now tell me, truthfully please, why you left Atlantica." Ariel stopped brushing the teenager's hair at that, before turning the girl towards her, a motherly firmness in her eyes that Harmony knew would get her in trouble if she didn't say the truth. But what could she say? Athena was a witch? Her family gossiped about her behind her back? The truth was that she figured out that all her problems could have been avoided if she'd just been smart enough to figure them out in time?

"I left 'cuz I'm not comfortable in Atlantica." Well, it was part true, but not the answer Ariel was looking for. And Harmony could tell that her mother was disappointed that the girl didn't trust her enough to tell her why; not that Ariel voiced her words out loud. Rather, she voiced them in heavy sighs, before shaking her head and placing the brush back down on the nightstand.

"Alright honey." Ariel was reluctant to be so nice, but she knew from the past that getting angry would only end with horrible consequences. "Get to sleep now, okay? It's been a long day for everyone." Dutifully, Harmony handed her cup of hot coco to her mother, who smiled in that I-want-to-be-mad-at-you-but-it's-hard kind of way. Brushing aside some tendrils of her daughter's hair away from her forehead, Ariel kissed the girl gently, before tucking her in tightly—most likely to avoid any escaping teenagers.

"Goodnight my little tune." Ariel murmured, tucking the ratty old stuffed panda bear beneath Harmony's arm. Had the girl grown up in the palace, such a stuffed animal wouldn't be fit for the girl to be sleeping with, considering it's condition. But the girl had grown up far away from the palace, and for that, she had an old stuffed animal that she claimed kept the monsters away, like a little child. Ariel wasn't sure about the legitimacy of that statement, but if it kept her daughter happy, than she was happy. Somewhat.

"Mom?" A drowsy voice called out, as the teenager was half in and half out of sleep.

"What sweetheart?"

"Love you." Harmony's voice whispered, before the girl fell off into dreamland, and curled up in the sheets with her stuffed animal. Ariel blinked in surprised at the words, not knowing what to say to that for a moment. That was really, the first time Harmony had ever said she loved...her mother...at least, in a long time if the girl had ever said it before. Quickly shaking off her shock, Ariel went back to motherly mode, as she blew out the candle that was the only source of light—Harmony had put a glamour on the fireplace so that it was dark, but it still kept her warm—in the room.

"I love you to, my darling little tune." Kissing the girl's sleeping head again, Ariel got on her feet, exhausted and wanting to get to her own bed to sleep. "Goodnight Harmony." On an added note, mostly to herself as she stole one more look at her baby-girl-all-grown-up sleeping peacefully, Ariel said:

"I _hope_ it's a goodnight for you."

* * *

**OOh! Another chapter! Well, anyway, this was a cute chapter to write, for me at least. Next chapter Harmony is going to give John a lesson in trying to dance...and not waltzing style, no, Nebraska style! Ooh, it's going to be soo good! I can't wait to get to writing it!**

**Okay so last chapter, two things happened that I forgot to talk about. I bribed xJadeRainx with her own personal character (Lacie the maid) if she gave me details about something which I will not mention, in case you guys start to bribe her too! I also mentioned the name xJadeRainx, which is her prize for winning the title contest (if you don't remember, than hit the backspace button and go to the first chapter!) **

**This was also one of her prizes. Okay, this is....well, I'm not aloud to say anything before or after it, so bear with me. **

**xJadeRainx is the supreme governess of the world and I bow to her literally genius.**

**Anyway, deejaymcknight wondered why she didn't get any special prize for being the 300th reviewer. And upon reviewing this (HA! I sound so smartical!) I realized that being the 300th reviewer is a really cool accomplishment. So this is your prize deejay! You got a special mention in my story! **

**Okay, so today the weirdest thing happened to me. As you all probably know, I HATE needles, but I had to have a blood test today. I thought I dealt with it fairly well, considering I didn't look at the needle the entire time, and just stared at some random painting. I was feeling a bit light headed when they told me I could leave, but I was like 'Eh, it'll go away'. So I started to walk down the hallway...and the next thing I remember is having someone wave rubbing alcohol under my nose. Aparently, I fainted. Weird, huh? **

**XD REVIEW!**


	94. Dancing and Two Different Talks

"..._watch me roll, watch me crank that soulja boy the_—okay, no, stop." The music stopped was suddenly cut, as Harmony sighed, pushing back her red hair in frustration. Standing in the ball room, she had on a pair of skinny jeans, and in a tight shirt that she loved. But right now, she wasn't loving anything so much as she pushed back her hair in frustration, and John got to stare at her curves, which showed amazingly well through her tight shirt...and very skinny pants.

"What did I do?" The boy wondered, pushing back his own brunette hair in annoyance. Who knew that if he wanted to take Harmony to this...prom thing, that he would have to learn to dance like she did? And these dances were incredibly strange too, with music that was all too loud, and said some pretty bad things if anyone could understand the lyrics.

"When the song goes 'youuu' that's when you do the jump-y/arm thingy, not at the real lyrics." Harmony explained, for about the millionth time. So many dances. So little time. Just check out the Cha Cha slide, or or the Cupid Shuffle, or even just normal dancing!

"Oh. I'm sorry." John finally said, blinking as he realized his mistake. "Can we try it again?" Harmony gave a sigh at that, but finally gave a nod, as she pushed back her red hair away from her face.

"Em?" Harmony called out to her friend, who immediately grinned.

"I'm on it!" The girl called back, before pressing play on Harmony's iPod, and letting the speakers carry the music throughout the amazing acoustics of the ball room.

"Remember, the 'youuu'." Harmony reminded, as she heard the music start back up, and start back up the dance again. John beside her did the same, finally figuring out how to do the dance, before he broke on the 'youuu' and did the jump/arm thing that he'd seen Harmony demonstrate before. Except this time, instead of staring early, he continued on way too late.

"Cut!" Harmony called to Em, her way of saying 'shut off the music'. "John..." Harmony said, shaking her head as John grimaced, waiting for Harmony to tell him what he'd done wrong. But the girl only sighed, shaking her head before blearily looking up and giving him a thin smile. "Let's just take a break for awhile, okay? I don't feel like dancing anymore."

"Alright." John acknowledged, though he wondered whether this sudden 'break' had anything to do with him not learning the dance correctly. But really, this was stupid! At least the dances in this world made sense! Waltzes and more, they flowed with the music, creating an atmosphere for partner to partner. But in the songs and dances in Harmony's world, it was completely different. The dance was only something that was seen in what Harmony called a 'music video', and the music was choppy, lyrics all over the place, the beat too loud, and there really was no atmosphere for partner to partner.

"Wait, Kat, stay out on the dance floor! Show Johnny Boy over here how you move it!" Emma called out, a grin on her face as Harmony stuck out her tongue at her friend, who only laughed, leaning back on the grand ballroom steps. A few days ago, she'd been worried her friend could have done something to herself, as the twigs crunched under her boots in the half snow, half mud of the woods. And now, today, she was worried her friend wouldn't dance to the song Emma chose. It was amazing how just a few short days could change a person.

"Move it?" John wondered, his eyes never leaving Harmony's body. Holy...wow. She was...gorgeous, and that was just with tight clothing on! Of course, if the girl's parents saw her here, right now, in those clothes they might not agree, but John certainly thought she looked dazzling.

"Just watch." Emma said back to 'Johnny Boy' as she nicknamed him. "Ready?" Not waiting for a reply, though it came just two seconds later, Emma scrolled down through Harmony's iPod, before finally finding the song she wanted, and clicking it, while looking up with an evil smile.

"_Yeah (yeah) Shorty got down low and said come and get me  
Yeah (yeah) I got so caught up I forgot she told me  
Yeah (yeah) Her and my girl used to be the best of homies  
Yeah (yeah) Next thing I knew she was all up on me screaming:_

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Yeah, Yeah! Yeaah!  
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Yeah, Yeah! Yeaah!"

After giving Em an eye roll for a moment at the song choice, Harmony did 'move it'. She let the music envelope her, as it had so long ago when she'd just been a little girl of thirteen, and she let out a laugh of pure joy. Her hips moved up and down, and all around, the movement smooth and amazingly fun at the same time. The girl let another laugh escape her throat as she moved her hips all around again, letting her bare feet move in a fun way across the marbled floors of the ball room. She was so enveloped in the music that she didn't really notice how her shirt had raised to be more like a crop top now, and how her jeans had slid down to a lower spot on her waist. She just danced though, danced and laughed and had fun with the music...that is, until, she bumped into someone.

At first, the girl thought it was a servant, who'd probably overheard the strange music and come to investigate. But when she heard the music suddenly stop completely, the girl froze, slowly turning around to face...her parents.

Eric and Ariel stared at their daughter, both their expressions set in fury. For a moment, neither of them could say a word, as their angered expressions just made Harmony gulp, and realize that she was in big trouble now. Very big trouble.

"Um..." Harmony managed to say, biting her lower lip as she knew that she was in for it.

"Pull. Down. Your. Shirt." Harmony couldn't be sure which parent that had come from, because her parent's furious tones were kind of a mix in her head from all the stuff that they'd done to her in fury. But still, quickly the girl pulled down her shirt, looking over her shoulder to see that Emma had completely ditched Harmony, but John was still looking like he was in dream world.

Before the girl had time to look back to her parent's, her ear was roughly grabbed and she was dragged up the ballroom stairs and away to her room by it, and despite her complaining, Ariel didn't loosen her grip.

Finally making it to her room, Ariel pushed the girl inside of it, before shutting the door behind her and taking deep, calming breaths so that she didn't end up murdering her daughter.

"Harmony Althea Benson what were you just doing out there?" Ariel asked, her eyes shut as she fought herself not to yell at her daughter. But really, what had the girl been doing?! Wearing such tight clothes, dancing like that...GR!

"Um...dancing?" Harmony guessed, a subtle hint of the sarcasm she was so famous for in her tone. Rolling her eyes at her mother, the girl spun around on her toes, until finally reaching her full length mirror. The girl whistled in approval at the sight of herself...and how big her chest looked at that. "Damn, I look _sexy_!" Harmony muttered to herself, turning this way and that as she tried to find the best angle.

"Alright, stop. I think I know where you're going with this." Ariel said, mostly to herself as she saw Harmony admiring her body in the mirror...and that same look that the mother herself had had in her eyes as a teenager who was so close to the one she loved. Sitting on the edge of the bed Ariel looked up at her daughter, as Harmony turned around with one brow raised (a trait she'd inherited from her father) in question to her mother. "Sit." Ariel motioned with her hand to the edge of Harmony's bed, and conveniently next to her. Knowing that Ariel would never talk unless Harmony played 'good girl' the girl went and sat next to her mother on her bed. Ariel gave a sigh, before turning towards her daughter again with a thin smile.

"You think as a mother that I wouldn't know what you're up to?" Ariel said, as Harmony snorted, pulling her knees up to her chest as she rested her chin in them., her eyes rolling at her mother.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Ariel." Harmony muttered, before flopping backwards on her bed, and hugging her old panda bear to her chest. The girl's mother just shook her head, a still thin smile on her face, though her eyes had an ounce of hurt in them for Harmony calling her mother by her name.

"Don't be such an adult sweetheart." Ariel chastised, though she knew that the reverse conversation was probably going on elsewhere in the world. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Jonathan is staying in the palace with you; you want to show him your more..._womanly_ side. You want him to think that you're ready, if he's ready. Did I hit the target, or did I completely miss?" Ariel asked, waiting for a response from her daughter. There was none. A smirk arose on the mother's lips at that, as she knew she had finally caught her daughter.

"Honey...I know you want him to think of you as a mature, young woman, with a body and mind of your own, and I know you think that the only way to do that is to show him. Dancing like that...and having your clothes so tight, so revealing...*sigh*. What I'm trying to say is, you don't need to show him anything, at least, not yet. Let him wonder about you darling, let him think about what you could be hiding, night and day. Trust me; you'll have much more..._interesting_ results if you do." Ariel spoke from experience, of course. She knew what it was like, to be a young teenager in love, and to have the man you love so close to you...but at the same time, so far away.

"But what if he thinks of me as just a kid, if I don't?" Harmony wondered, finally sitting up as her mother's expression didn't waver, though the woman was delighted Harmony was taking an interest in something, and having a real conversation with her mother.

"Trust me honey; after your wedding night, Jonathan most definitely will not think of you as a child." The thought of Ariel's word's made Harmony blush crimson, as her mother laughed at the girl's face. "But for now, I think you should change into something more appropriate, before your father has a...what's that word again? Oh yes. Conniption."

While Ariel was wrapping up her talk with Harmony upstairs, Eric was just starting his with John's downstairs. John had been staring at the floor of the ballroom, and Eric had been staring at the boy with murder in his eyes.

"Jonathan, let me make myself clear to you." Eric started his voice that of an overprotective father giving the 'boyfriend' the most obvious third degree. "If you so much as touch my daughter, or even look at her in such a way again—and I don't care what she's doing, but _if _you look at her like that again—I will personally make sure that every bone in your body is broken. Do you understand?" It wasn't like John really had a choice. It was either say 'understand' and live, or say 'no, I don't' and die. John preferred the first one.

"Yes sir." The boy said quickly, as Eric nodded in approval, before Harmony came skipping down the stairs, wearing a dress, thankfully. Ariel was close at her heels, musingly watch the girl with nostalgic eyes and a smile that said all.

"Hi Dad." Harmony said cheerfully, kissing Eric's cheek before turning to John, and wrapping her hand with his. "Come on. Let's go riding. I haven't seen _Prince_ Brisinger in forever." With that, Harmony pulled John out of the ball room, him stumbling to keep up with how fast she was dragging him.

"Alright, what did you say to him." Ariel knew Eric had something to do with the way John had a fearful look every time his eyes so much as traveled to the king. Eric shrugged his shoulders in an indifferent way.

"I just told him if he so much as touched our daughter, or looked at her like, well, you saw, I would personally break all the bones in his body." Eric said the last part cheerfully, as though he wouldn't mind breaking all of John's bones. Ariel gave a laugh, resting her head on her husband's chest.

"And I thought my father was horrible when it came to being overprotective." The woman said, shaking out her head as she laughed again at just the thought of it. But Eric wasn't catching on so quickly.

"I am not like your father!" The man disagreed. Ariel chuckled.

"Your right." She said thoughtfully, before looking up with a teasing smile. "Your about ten times worse."

* * *

**I'm sorry! I haven't updated in forever, but every night I'm just so tired that all I do is add a little to this chapter, and then fall asleep! High school homework is killing me! But thankfully, tomorrow is a half day of school, so that means half the stress, so I'll come home early to probably write another chapter or two for the night! And to make up for not updating in forever, this is an uber long chapter--2294 words to be exact. And then I also updated 2 chapters to my Ariel story, so please, don't be mad at me! I'm trying to be good, but I'm exhausted! **

**Alrighty, so, g'night everyone!**


	95. A Father Daughter Midnight Talk

Eric tossed and turned in his bed, unable to find a comfortable spot. Finally exasperated from the lack of sleep, the man turned on his back and let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. Ariel, who'd been trying to get some peaceful rest on top of him, groaned from his movements, as she was now blearily awake. Turning to her husband, the woman yawned, a clear sign that she was tired.

"What's wrong?" Ariel asked in a tired voice, yawning again, this time even more loudly. Resting her head on her pillow, the woman desperately made an attempt to keep her eyes open so that she could carry a conversation with her husband.

"Nothing love. Go back to sleep." As much as Eric wanted to talk to his wife about how he couldn't get to sleep, he wasn't selfish enough to keep her awake when she was exhausted. He would just have to find out what was troubling his mind on his own, the man summarized.

Ariel made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like 'okay', before yawning again, and falling fast asleep once more. Had she been less exhausted, she would have grilled her husband on what was troubling him. But since she was so tired after a full day of dealing with her kingdom, she thought his words were reasonable and just went back to sleep.

Eric on the other hand, couldn't do such an action, as he looked over at his now peacefully asleep wife. Shaking his head, the man leaned over in their bed, placing a soft kiss on his wife's lips, before getting out of bed.

Slipping on his robe, but not fastening it as it was too late for anyone to be up, and making sure his slippers were on, Eric made his way down the corridors of his home. He pushed back his black hair in frustration as he kept thinking what was keeping him up, but could find no reason in his mind as to why.

He hadn't done anything to make Ariel upset at him lately. Ariel worn out, but at least sleeping in their bed peacefully. Coral was fast asleep in Melody's old room—or at least, that's what Ariel told her husband. Melody was off an married, so that wasn't what was bothering him either. His kingdom was alright, and he wasn't pressed for time or anything of that sort. Jonathan wouldn't be going anywhere near Harmony without her adequate supervision, after that little talk Eric had with the boy. And Harmony was....wait. Harmony.

The sound of his daughter's name struck the man with guilt, though he didn't know why. Okay, so he knew why he should be having guilt over his daughter, after all that he'd done to her, but this was a different type of guilt. This was...it was something that seemed to have been tugging at him for awhile, though he couldn't quite place it.

Giving a sigh, Eric opened up the door to the kitchen, going in for a midnight snack to maybe ease whatever the cause of his guilt was. But, it seemed that someone else had already beaten him to having a midnight snack.

"Ariel?" Eric asked incredulously, staring at the red head who'd jumped on top of a low table, and was dunking cookies into a glass of milk. But when his wife looked up, Eric was shocked to find...that it wasn't his wife.

Granted, from behind, and even from the front, Ariel and Harmony looked nearly like twins, besides the fact that Ariel would always look more mature than her daughter because of her years. But there were subtle differences between the two. For example, Harmony had her famous electric blue streak of hair, while Ariel didn't. And lately, Eric had noticed that his oldest daughter had grown taller than her mother, only about an inch, but it was still tall enough that Eric had noticed. Plus there was the fact that Harmony had a scar piercing through her eyebrow from when she nearly broke her neck falling off of Brisinger on her fifteenth birthday. And all these differences, that separated Ariel from Harmony....well, the woman in front of Eric had.

"Eri—er, I mean, Dad?!" Harmony's shocked voice rang out, quickly trying to cover up the fact that she'd called her father by his first name. The girl's eyes looked up at her father sheepishly, hoping he wouldn't enforce a too bad punishment on her for being out of bed, at this time of night. Eric's eyes just switched from the plate of cookies, to his daughter, and then back again before he shook his head at the girl.

"Mind if I have one?" Eric's voice said, gesturing towards the plate of cookies and glass Harmony was dunking them in. Though the girl was clearly shocked that she wasn't being shipped off to bed, she still pushed the plate of cookies towards her father, who leaned against the table where Harmony was sitting on, and took one of the cookies. There was a silence between father and daughter for a moment, before Harmony sighed—not noticing how her father raised his brows at that—and pushed her hair back beneath her ears.

"Dad? Can I ask you something? It's...kind of been bugging me for awhile now." Eric raised his brows at that, wondering what on earth his daughter was talking about. If it was a girl thing...no, Harmony wouldn't talk to him about that. Would she?

"Of course Harm. You know you can tell your mother or me anything." Eric said, as his daughter looked at him with those big, blue eyes that had for sure come from her mother. Harmony bit her lip, looking down at the cookie she was about to dunk nervously, before looking back up at her father.

"I don't think I can ever be a Queen or anything...because I'm...I don't know...It's just not my thing. I'd rather be...okay, don't get mad or anything, but...I'd rather be a journalist." Harmony bit her lip, before stuffing the soggy cookie in her mouth and letting the chocolate chips melt on her tongue, mixing in with the milk.

Eric blinked, surprised that his daughter was actually confiding something in him. As far as he knew, the only one she ever talked to was Ariel, and that was very rarely. So now that she was talking, confiding, in him...well, he just wanted to be a good influence on her.

"Harmony..." Eric sighed, knowing what he was about to say would put him in the dog house for good when Ariel found out about it. "Your mother is going to have my throat for this, but if that's what you want, than do it." Eric surprised himself at his own words, and Harmony was equally surprised as she looked up in shock at her father.

"You mean it? Like, for real?!" Harmony's voice was anxious, even to her as she thought this through. Eric was...accepting her life choice. He was being understanding about it. He wasn't...freaking out over it.

"I mean it." Eric said, a smile filling up his features as Harmony's eyes looked brighter by the second. "If that's what you want, than go ahead and do it. In fact," here Eric paused a moment, noticing how Harmony's blue eyes went wider by the minute. "I heard that the Shireland Gazette is looking for a new editor..." Or they will be after I tell them, Eric mentally added, as Harmony gave a gasp in delight.

"Thank you!" The girl nearly squealed in delight, but she caught herself at the last minute. So finally, things were starting to look up. Maybe that epiphany back in her hideaway had been the best thing to ever happen to the girl. Maybe now, maybe after all this time, she would be happy, because she'd finally learned to let go. Throwing her arms around her father in her happiness, Harmony could feel him giving her the hug back.

"You're welcome." Eric chuckled, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of his redheaded daughter's hair. "But now, I think it's time for you to sleep Harmony. You still have school tomorrow." Eric refused to acknowledge the fact that John was going to school with Harmony. He just plain out refused to believe that his daughter would be going to school with that..._boy_, a place where he couldn't control them! Good thing he had a little spy that was going to keep an eye on those two at school...

"Oh, great." Harmony groaned, thinking of what school would hold tomorrow. If she'd thought having John going to school would be bad, than with that other nut job who would most likely be constantly jabbering in Harmony's ear all through the day would be even _worse_.

"Get to sleep Harmony." Eric chuckled at his daughter's groan, before kissing her forehead. As if by some strange force, Eric finally realized what had been keeping him up so late. His estranged relationship with his daughter. He barely talked to the girl, and if he did, it was usually about something the teenager could care less about. No wonder he'd been feeling guilty...well, that was going to change now, Eric made up in his mind. He'd make sure he was more involved in his daughter's life, even if it killed him.

"'K. See you tomorrow Dad. 'Night." The word dad smoothly fell off of Harmony's lips, unlike it ever had before. With Ariel, Harmony so rarely slipped up in calling her mother by her first name because it was just obvious that Ariel was her mother. But with Eric...well...she never really had a relationship with him. By the time she'd gotten to actually know him, she'd been a teenager, who had a growing body, and all fathers felt awkward at seeing their babies growing up. But maybe she should get to know him better, the girl mused. If he was this cool with stuff, than maybe she should talk to him more often than Ariel...hmm...

"Goodnight Harm." Eric said, a smile playing on the edge of his lips as he saw his daughter skip out of the kitchen. Granted, he'd have to talk to her about wearing such short...er, what were they called again? Oh yes, shorts, to sleep. And he'd also have to talk to her about fastening her robe if she was wearing something like that....or at least, _wearing_ her robe...

Shaking his head, Eric returned the plate of cookies back to it's original spot, and washed the glass of milk Harmony had been having—you know, erasing the evidence so that no one knew that the girl had been running around the castle in the middle of the night, in indecent clothes, with her fiancée only a few feet away....

Walking silently back to his room, and slipping back into bed, the man could feel his wife snuggling up closer to him, her head resting on his chest, like usual. It seemed that Ariel was almost a quarter conscious, because she did talk to her husband.

"Are you okay?" The woman yawned, her eyes still shut as she rested her head against her husband's chest.

"Yes darling. I'm fine." Eric answered, as Ariel made a noise in the back of her throat, before falling fast asleep again. Eric stayed up, maybe ten minutes more, before falling asleep too, a smile that he was finally getting somewhere in his relationship with his daughter, on his face.


	96. As the School Day Drags On

Harmony growled in annoyance as she found that her locker was refusing to open,_ again_. Finally giving up on trying to open it the normal way, the girl started pounding as hard as she could on it, before it creaked open.

"Harmony? Are you...mad?" John asked cautiously, seeing at the mistreatment Harmony had inflicted upon the metal locker. He was wearing a pair of faded, dark jeans, as Harmony had called them, and a...a...tee shirt, yes that was the word. A Jansport backpack was slung over one of his shoulders, as his eyes absorbed everything in front of him with a calmness that no one but himself could probably accomplish.

"Mad?" A barked laugh arose from the girl at that, as she angrily started shoving books into her backpack. "No, I'm not _mad_. But I am, frustrated, tired, and pissed off." The girl snapped at her love, her eyes dark as she stared into her locker, before finally slamming the door shut and turning back to John...and having her expression melt into one of a slight grimace. "Sorry. I'm just...a little on edge today." Mostly because her monthly gift had decided to show up just a teensy bit early, she was in pain because of her cramps and migraine, she had a ball tonight, and to top it all off, she had to deal with a hyperactive teenager. No, not John. Someone much, much, much, worse.

"Oh Harmony, isn't this just the coolest thing you've ever seen?!" Coral's voice exclaimed, as she kept zipping her own Jansport's zipper up and down, and up and down, excitement all over her face at just the zipper of it. "I mean, I never knew zippers could be this fun!" The girl giggled, a happy smile alighting her face as Harmony looked at her cousin a moment, before groaning and smacking her head against the metal of her locker.

"Why me?" The girl groaned, as her cousin paid her no mind, and John gave a half devilish smile to the girl. Somehow, Coral had managed to convince her mother, and Harmony to be able to go to school with Harmony, in Nebraska. Why the girl had ever agreed to this, she'd never know, but she did know that now she was stuck dealing with a mermaid/human/hyper/freakazoid-teenage-cousin every weekday in school now. The thought of it made Harmony groan.

"If it makes you feel any better," John's hot breath was on Harmony's neck, as he whispered into her ear, seriously making the girl's heart pump a million miles per hour. "I'm looking forward to my second birthday gift from you." That did make Harmony feel better, actually.

Since today was technically John's birthday, the girl had given him an old pastel sketch of hers, from when she was fourteen and had just met him. The sketch was of them too, sitting together on the beach, laughing, at age fourteen, with the words hastily scrawled across it 'Me with the cutest, and bestest friend ever, John'. But, Harmony had also whispered that John was getting a second birthday gift later on, to which John was intrigued and wondered by.

"So am I." Harmony said with a smile, her lips tingling at just the thought of it. "Alright, we have to go to the office now." Harmony looked expectantly up at Coral...who was still marveling at her backpack's zipper. Sigh. Grabbing the girl by her arm, and half dragging her, Harmony made it to the office, with John coming next to her, of course.

"Hey Mrs. G." Kathy's voice made the assistant principal look up with raised brows, her lips already pursed out at what the girl had done to get her sent to the office this early in the morning.

"What you do this time?" Mrs. Grant asked with a smirk, knowing that for sure this girl, who was a troublemaker, must have done something. Both Coral and John watched the exchange before them with wonder in their eyes.

"Nothing!" The girl said, her hands going up in a surrender as Mrs. Grant looked at her shrewdly for a moment, before shaking her head at the girl. "I'm just being nice, and showing the newbies around, and they needed to pick up their schedules, so like, I came here." Kathy's voice was honest, but the kind of honest that could also be interpreted as a lie.

"Newbies?" Mrs. Grant frowned, quickly typing something into her computer and frowning deeper as she looked at the two students who were peeking over the girl's shoulder. "But there's no new studen—" Mrs. Grant was suddenly cut off by the fact that she could no longer...think.

Harmony was staring at the woman's face, her expression intent as she let her lips move in a silent spell whisper. John and Coral could only watch in amazement at Harmony's powers, before the girl gave a gasp, falling backwards a second—into John's arms, of course—as she broke off her spell, and therefore, her hold on Mrs. G's mind.

"You two must be the new students!" Mrs. Grant said, smiling at the two students who looked....a little surprised, to say the least. "I have your schedules right here. Kathy can show you around school. You'll be Wildcat's in no time!" Finally regaining her breath, though John still had a worried look about his face for Harmony, the girl stood up on her own, shaking off her light headedness because her spell had taken a lot out of her.

"Um...thank you?" Coral guessed, taking her schedule from the woman with no small amount of surprise. Why did Harmony complain about her powers? To be able to control someone's mind would be awesome!

"Yes, thank you." John had been raised to be a polite, young man, but that didn't mean that he broke off his intent gaze with Harmony's composed features for one second.

Before John and Coral were walking out of the office, and had a chance to look through their schedules, Harmony had plucked each of them out of their hands, and was intently looking down at them, before shoving them back to each of the teenagers.

"You have every class with me, except two. While I have yearbook and Spanish, the both of you are getting two free periods, in a row. I think you can handle it." Harmony said, before heading directly to her homeroom door. Quickly, the girl swung it open, hoping that she wasn't late.

As the day wore on, John and Coral noticed a peculiar change in Harmony. The girl was...so comfortable. So okay with everything. She was quiet during her classes, and around certain people, she was almost...shy. She was even cruder in her jokes around people that seemed to be her friends. It was strange, and yet, fun to watch at the same time, as Harmony transformed into someone totally different. Someone who was so different than the troubled teen they all knew, that John and Coral had to blink twice before realizing that this 'Kathy' and 'Kat' they kept hearing, was actually their cousin and fiancée. And that was another thing. If Harmony introduced John, she introduced him as her boyfriend, not her fiancée. Was she ashamed of him, John wondered. Was she scared people wouldn't like him, Coral wondered too. But, all these questions were finally answered, in lunch.

"Ew! I think this just moved!" Lizzie gave a grimaced look at hot lunch on her plate, before pushing it away in disgust. "Ugh. You two are _so_ lucky you didn't have to deal with this kind of food all four years of high school." The sentence was directed towards Coral and John, as both looked up briefly, before sharing a secret look with one another at that, and turning back to their...strange looking meals.

"I completely back you up on that one Liz." Emma's voice sounded out, looking at her meal before turning her head away from it and pushing it away from her.

"I think they want to kill us." Kathy said with a grimace, poking at her food before looking at her friends. "Seriously, who would _willingly_ eat this crap?"

"I'll give you five bucks if you take a bite out of it, and keep it down." Matt leaned over the table, a smirk on his face as he knew that Kathy wasn't one to back down from a chance to make more money.

"Not this again!" Lizzie groaned, burying her face in her hands before looking back up at Coral and John. "Every single lunch they bet money so that one of them can eat this, and try to keep it down. I swear, it's the most annoying thing..."

"Who are you calling annoying, biatch?" Kathy's voice laughed out, good naturedly to her friend. "I am not annoying whatsoever. Right John?"

"Um...correct." John answered, unsurely and hesitantly. He was still trying to find his way around this new, strange world of Harmony's. Everything was so...different. None of the boys held out doors for the girls, or pushed out their chairs for them. in return, the girls had the most vulgar language that John had only heard a few times on soldiers—and a lot of the vulgar language was coming from Harmony. And then this...light, that just flickered on and off with a switch...and the posters...and rude people...well, it was a very different place for the boy.

"Anyway," Matt said, with an eye roll towards Kathy, before looking back at John. "So like, you and Kathy look pretty tight to be just dating. Sure you two aren't like, engaged or whatever?" Matt was laughing at just the thought of it. Kathy, engaged! Two words that would never, ever be put in a sentence together again.

"Actually, we are engaged. We're going to marry on May 31." John said, truthfully as he looked over at Harmony. The girl just looked at him, and then back at her friends, before snorting to herself quietly.

"TEENAGE PREGNANCY!" Emma shrieked out, before she, Lizzie, Matt, and Kathy all fell into a fit of laughter, tears in their eyes by the end of it. "Kathy, I can't believe you're knocked up! OMG, what are you going to name the kid?!"

"Hahaha, not funny Em." Kathy said with a now sour expression, before lifting up her hand and putting all fingers down, except one. And that one just so happened to be, her middle finger, to which Coral and John gasped at. "F you, biatch. I'm not pregnant, and even if I was, why would I get married at seventeen? That's for like, losers." Kathy snorted again, though under the table she squeezed John's hand, in a silent message, as if to say 'I'll explain later'.

"Losers like...you?" Matt guessed, earning a sour look from Kathy in the process. "What? Everyone knows you are. Right Coraline?" Here Matt turned towards Kathy's cousin, who had some weird name and who was from this small town in the middle of nowhere.

"My name's Coral!" The girl defended, finally joining in the conversation with a laugh to herself, as she loosened up. And as the school day went on, John loosened up immensely too, making Harmony think that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea, bringing him and Coral to school. Actually, the day had turned out to be pretty fun.

Now if only she could convince Ariel that she was deathly sick, and therefore unable to attend the ball tonight...hmm...

* * *

**So tired...so late...*yawn*...I talk more tomorrow...review...check out profile for poll...yawn...**


	97. My Mom and Dad are a Queen and King

"...and furthermore—" Whatever the Earl of Ravenshire had been about to say was suddenly cut off by the slow, creaking noise of the doors of the throne room opening, and a quiet voice calling out into the room.

"Mom? Dad?" Harmony's voice called into the throne room, hoping that her cheeks weren't as red as she thought they were. This place, all filled with dukes, and lords, and earls, and what not's always gave Harmony the creeps. Perhaps she still hadn't gotten over her paranoid feelings of people just pushing her around as though she was a ball, or maybe it was what had been said about her in here before. Whatever the case, Harmony usually hated to interrupt her parents when they were in the throne room with someone.

"Harmony. Come here sweetheart." Ariel's warm, exhausted voice said, waving her daughter into the throne room. There was a moment of hesitation on Harmony's part, but the girl did manage to push past it, and keep her head down low as she passed all the dukes and whatever people, and just got to her parents thrones. Thankfully, and quite obviously to her parents who spent every day with her, Harmony had put a glamour on her clothes so that it appeared as though she was wearing a dress, when in reality she was still in her school clothes.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." It seemed like an adequate thing to say, but Harmony knew for a fact that she'd interrupted some old guy talking. That was going to make the hate meter rise about 20 more degrees. Sigh.

"No, it's alright." Eric said, waving off the fact that Harmony had in fact interrupted the Earl...and a good thing to because the king knew he was about to fall asleep. Him and Ariel had been at this all day, back and forth, and back and forth...it truly was exhausting, and what was even more exhausting was that there was a ball tonight!

"How was school darling?" Ariel murmured, pushing back her daughter's wayward bangs so that she could see the girl's face. At least Harmony had come home when she said she would, that was a good thing.

"Predictable and boring, like always." Harmony said with a snort, causing her mother and father to share wan smiles at that, before shaking their head at their daughter. They could ask aloud how John and Coral adapted to such a new environment...but it was better if, for now, that was kept as a family secret. As it was the kingdom wasn't too pleased with their only remaining heir going off into some other world where there was no form of communication.

"Did you get any grades today?" Eric asked finally, his still wan smile at Harmony's explanation at her day growing just the teeniest bit bigger. Good. He was glad that her day had been boring, because if it had, that meant that she and John hadn't done anything inappropriate.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I got my math test back. I got a..." Harmony bit her lip, her eyes shifting towards all the dudes who looked like they were at the end of their patience sticks at waiting for her to leave so they could resume the discussion they'd been having with the Queen and King. She better hurry this up, or else she'd probably start a riot. "Um...can me and Coral—"

"Coral and I, honey." Ariel corrected gently, too exhausted to really get on Harmony's case about her terrible grammar. Though, the teenager sent her mother a shrewd gaze at that, to which both parents had smiles tugging on the corners of their lips.

"Fine. Can _Coral and I_, go to the Oak Wood Forest? I wanted to show her this really cool thing..." Ignoring the raised brows from the fancy dudes in the room at that, Harmony put on her best puppy dog pout look to her parents. But both parents shared a tense look, silently having a conversation with each other.

"The Oak Wood Forest?" Eric clarified, as Harmony nodded energetically to her father. "That forest is just so..." Eric frowned then, breaking off as he shook his head at his daughter, his brows furrowing as he tried to find the right words. He knew of the rumors that surrounded that forest. "Wouldn't you rather collect shells on the beach?" Eric tried to change the subject, but Harmony would not have it as she tried to figure out what her father wasn't telling her.

"'Just so' what?" Harmony asked, cocking her head to the side as her brows pulled together in question. She'd been to that forest more than her share of times; what was so wrong about it?

Ariel leaned over to her daughter and pressed a kiss on her forehead, tucking away a few strands of the girl's crazy red hair. "Never mind about that Harmony. Just go to the beach with your cousin; I'm sure you two can have just as much fun. But please, stay away from that forest. Alright sweetheart?"

There had been rumors about...not so great activity going on there, to say the least. There was a group, by the name of 'Harmonians' that...really would do anything to keep the princess off the throne. Of course, both Eric and Ariel shieled this information from their daughter, and always made sure that wherever she was going, she would be safe, but still...those woods were rumored to be the secret hideout of the Harmonians. If Harmony went there...and if they found her...Ariel repressed a shudder at what would happen to her daughter.

"Alright." Harmony acknowledged, acting out a theatrical sigh to her mother because she knew that there was...there was something being hidden from her. John wouldn't have stood a chance at keeping a secret against her; Harmony knew that for a fact, so he wouldn't know. Coral would eventually clam up and spit it out, so she didn't know. But...Ariel and Eric knew. And Harmony would be damned if she didn't try to find out what was so bad about that forest.

"Good." Eric said, though not all relieved at his daughter's words as he knew she was a very good liar. Perhaps he should send a guard to look after the girl...no, no, if he did it would just raise Harmony's suspicions, because she was usually allowed to go to the beach alone. "Have fun." A smile lifted up on the corners of Eric's exhausted lips at that.

"Alright." Harmony acknowledged for the second time, before quickly placing a peck on both her mother and father's cheeks—something which surprised them greatly, since Harmony never did such a thing—before the girl quickly said "Bye!" and was on her way out of the ballroom.

"Be back by....oh she can't hear me." Ariel cut off her call to her daughter, as she realized the girl was already out of the throne room. That girl could _run_, that was for certain. Shaking her head, but with a smile, Ariel turned back to her husband, as a brief look passed through both their eyes.

They loved their daughter...but they hoped she didn't do anything stupid, as she was prone to doing.

**

* * *

**

**I think you have to many shoes, shutup! Stupid boy, stupid boy, let's get some shoes...let's party!**

**...Sorry, I'm listening to the Cinderella version of that song, lol. So anyway, I know I haven't updated in awhile, but I'm doing it now so don't be mad! So, what do you think of the Harmonians? I know it's a bad name, but I was thinking more rebel group than anything. ****They'll come in handy probably later in the story. If your good, and review this chapter, than I'll post up the other two tonight. **

**Oh, and I updated The Gift of Love yesterday, just saying...**


	98. A Kiss and Kill Kind of Day

_I am so bored with this galloping. Can't we run already?_

Brisinger's complaining voice made Harmony roll her eyes as she held on tightly to the reigns, not trusting her horse to follow her instructions that they were only to go to the woods.

"And have you kill me? No thanks." Harmony snorted quietly, her bare legs hugging onto her horse's white-with-black-flecks sides. A gentle hand on her arm beside her made Harmony look next to her, her brows raised as to what this hand was about. "Didn't you listen at all during that presentation in English today? It's called 'touching safety', and right now, you're not touching safely, considering that I'm about to bite off your hand." And there's the PMS kicking in, Harmony thought to herself, as the person beside her gave a chuckle.

"That's alright. As long as I get to touch you." John neatly dodged a fireball that was sent just a bit too over his head in reproach for his words. Instead of freaking out, he merely laughed it off, letting his hand start to trail down further than Harmony's arm. "I still can't believe your parents were alright with us going on this ride, after what happened to Lance and Melody and all..." John trailed off then, but Harmony knew what he'd been about to say.

"Uh huh." Harmony said, making sure she sounded like she had actually gotten permission to go to the Oak Wood Forest with John. She wasn't an idiot. Her parent's would never have agreed to a young, teenage girl to be alone with her fiancée, especially after what happened with Melody..."Well, we're here." Harmony voiced, jumping off of her horse, who was now contemplating whether he'd get Maybelle pregnant or not if he mated with her while John and Harmony went for a swim. Gross, Harmony thought, scrunching up her nose, horse sex.

"Harmony this place is...beautiful." John's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the glistening waterfall surrounded by an almost mystical amount of forest greenery. The canopy of trees blocked out most of the sunlight, but what light did filter in made the place glow an almost heavenly kind of color.

"Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?" Harmony noticed, looking through the waterfall at John. Somehow, thought the man had no clue how, she'd gotten to the top of the cliff the waterfall fell down off of, and she was staring through the falling water at him. "Wait till you see how great the water feels..." Slowly, Harmony pulled her shirt over her head, and tossed it to Brisinger, who caught it easily in his mouth, and tossed the shirt over his saddle. By now, Harmony was just wearing a pair of jean, cut off shorts, and a string bikini bathing suit top. John's eyes couldn't have been larger if...well, there was nothing to compare it to. His eyes were just that huge.

"Harmony, what are you...I mean...uh-um-uh..." John stuttered, his cheeks flaring as red as the maiden whom he loved hair was. Harmony smirked at his face, before pulling her red hair loose and letting it flow easily around her face. "H-Ha-Harmony....what are you doing...I-I...er..." John was raised to be a gentleman, but right now, he felt anything like a gentleman as he couldn't take his eyes off of Harmony's body.

"Come and get me." Harmony sang out in that beautiful singing voice of hers, letting it vibrate throughout the forest. For a moment¸ the girl thought she saw something move behind the trees, something that didn't look like an animal, but looked like a human slinking off...but, her paranoid side was probably just acting up, the girl summarized, shaking those thoughts from her mind.

With a wink to John, smiling prettily, before diving, with barely a splash, into the clear, cool water. John stood there, next to his own horse, open mouthed in shock at what Harmony had just done, but he summarized he'd talk to her about it when she surfaced up again, so that way he didn't have to get wet.

After one minute of Harmony not surfacing, John was still relatively calm. She was part mermaid after all...

After two minutes of Harmony not surfacing, a small feeling of panic filled the boy, but he brushed it aside, thinking that any time now she'd be back up...

After three minutes of Harmony not surfacing, John had a feeling of dread in the bottom of his stomach, as he bit his lip and started pacing, worried now...

After four full fledged minutes of Harmony still not surfacing, John muttered "Shit!" to himself, before hastily throwing his shoes off, along with his shirt; as he knew it would just weigh him down in the water.

Making a relatively huge splash compared to Harmony's neat one in the water, John tried swimming around to find his fiancée. Where had she gone?! Was she drowning?! What was...

There was a sudden tugging at John's arm, and before he knew it, he was being pulled up to the surface of the water. When his head finally broke water, and after a few panting breaths he looked beside him, he was shocked to find a grinning, with soaking wet red hair, Harmony.

"We have to work on your reaction time. It took you almost five minutes to get to me." Harmony had a huge grin on her face, and what shocked John was that, she wasn't even out of breath, after being under the water for that long.

"But—you—drowning—land—water—waterfall....huh?!" John spluttered, still out of breath as Harmony just smiled at him, shaking her red hair away from her face, though since it was wet it stuck to her like glue.

"I think going so deep may have deprived your brain of oxygen. Don't worry though; I'm a certified oxygen-kiss-giver." And with that, Harmony pulled John's head down to her own, her fingers pushing back his brown locks as she kissed him with all her might. As the kiss started to deepen, so did the space between them, until Harmony was pressing up against Jonathan, her ample bosom pressing against John's chest.

Now I've, had, the time of my life, and I've never felt this way before. Yes I swear, it's the truth. And I owe it all to you, Harmony thought to herself, kissing John and letting her tongue slip around his as the kiss deepened even further. I feel the moment between you and I, Harmony was in pure bliss right now, letting the kiss go on for however long she could last with it. At this rate, with how heavy the kiss was, they might just...

_There's trouble. Human's are coming—two males, I think. Get to safety. _

Brisinger's alarmed voice made Harmony snort, as she knew that he was playing another one of his tricks on her.

_Kind of busy right now if you haven't noticed Bris,_ the girl answered her horse back with her thoughts. Usually, she preferred speaking aloud to him, but when locked in a kiss as wonderful as this...well...she really didn't want to.

_Get your damned brain out of the clouds and come back to earth, you stupid human girl! There are...three males now! They have weapons...and...and...Brisinger cocked his head more to the left, trying to hear better, they don't like strangers. Get to safety now, or I will drag you by your puny little human neck, you worthless witch!_

Brisinger's angry tone caught Harmony's attention finally, as she pushed John away, leaving the boy to wonder in his la la land state. She could hear it now, the sound of twigs snapping and leaves crunching under heavy boots, meant for the mountains.

_Do they know it's me here? Or do they just think it's a stranger?_ Harmony was now completely focused on her horse, barely listening to the whinnies of Maybelle who seemed to be talking to Brisinger about something. After a moment, the horse gave a sort of head nod, before letting his head turn in the direction of Harmony.

Maybelle can hear them more clearly than I. They know it's you. And they want to kill you. ____


	99. Possible Death Aftermath

Harmony didn't for one moment, doubt her horse's words. With a fluid motion, she grabbed John—who was still in La la land after that kiss—and pulled him with her under the water, as she sent a desperate message to Bris to hide himself in any way that he could. She didn't need to hurt anyone with her powers right now that was for sure. And just a second after Brisinger and Maybelle had hidden into the canopy of trees, voices could be heard.

"This 's where you 'eard 'er?" Harmony could hear the voices speaking above, though they were a bit addled with the water. John, who seemed to be recovering from the kiss finally when he heard the voices frowned a moment, opening his mouth to speak to Harmony....only to realize that he was in desperate need of oxygen.

"Yessir. Why, I even saw a flash 'o that bright red 'air 'ere. I think she was goin' for a swim." Another voice was heard above, as Harmony swallowed deeply, trying her best not to show how she really felt. She was scared as can be. She didn't know these people; all she knew that they didn't like her very much according to Brisinger.

"Uh." There was a grunt above, before there were some more snapping of twigs and crunching of leaves. "Well, I don't see no damned witch 'ere. 'ou trying to test me or sumtin boy?" The voice was louder, angrier now, as Harmony clutched at the bottom edge of her shorts tightly, her eyes shut and her heart pounding like a drum in her heart. Oh god, oh god, oh god, the girl's mind repeated over and over and over again.

"Lay off 'o him Mick. The boy ain't lyin'. See 'ere? Horse tracks. Damned witch must 'ave just left. With someone else too, 'cuz there ain't no such thing as a horse with eight legs." Another, less gruff voice replied to the first gruff voice. There seemed to be a sigh of relief from someone above, which must mean that they were leaving soon. Hopefully they wouldn't find her...wait, why was John tugging on her...oh shit.

John's face was turning purple from the lack of air. He kept looking above, then at Harmony, then at the surface, shaking from the effort to keep his breath held this long. Harmony bit her lip, her eyes frantic by now at what was happening. Oh god, first people want to kill, and then John is starting to die on her. Hang on John, the girl thought desperately. Just hang on.

"Should we go after 'er?" The youngest voice asked, the one who had said they'd seen Harmony here at the waterfall. Damn witch was right under their noses and she escaped!

"Naw. By now, the bitch 'as got a head start, and she probably 'as a guard 'ith her. Besides, it'll just take us longer 'cuz we'll need to go back to camp and round up some stuff. Damn it, we 'ere so close." The less gruff man, who seemed to be the leader said, and Harmony could just imagine him shaking his head—if she wasn't so scared for her life that is.

"Aw, she'll come 'ack Red. And when she does, we'll be ready. I'll grab her by that 'ittle throat 'o hers, and throw her 'n my tent, and let her try 'an use 'er damn witch magic. 'An then, once I let 'ou lads get a turn 'ith her, we'll slice open that purty lil throat of 'ers, and we'll all be 'afe from that damn witch being _our _ruler." The man by the name of Mick laughed crudely at that, as Harmony gave a shudder, her eyes closed as she struggled to keep herself from crying so hard that it would rock the entire forest.

" 'eah, that'll be the 'ay." The youngest voice of them all said in a dreamy tone, as there was a smack that could be heard on the land.

" 'Oy, lovers, 'et's get 'ack to camp 'ow. I want sum of that grub that Maude is makin'..." There was teases, and laughs from the man called Red, before the men seemed to walk off, and away from the waterfall.

_Can they still hear us? _Harmony's soft thoughts asked to her horse, as she was starting to feel a bit woozy from the lack of oxygen. Though, it was nothing compared to John, who now had a full on purple face, and was clutching at his lungs as though they were in serious pain.

_No. _That was all the answer Harmony needed, before bursting up out of the water with John. The boy spluttered water for a few minutes, breathing heavily as he tried to get his bearings straight and everything back in place. As his vision started to return to him—you know, he stopped seeing things in three—he stared at Harmony, who was looking off at the woods, where the men had walked off to, a miserable expression on her face.

"Harmony...who...who...who _were_ they?" John couldn't remember much of the conversation—half of it he'd been focused on still trying to live, as he was having black out moments in an out—and so, what he could recall from it was that someone wanted to hurt Harmony. Hurt her really bad.

"I-I don't know." Harmony answered truthfully, tears stinging her eyes as she swallowed deeply, trying to keep a calm composure. Bris and Maybelle trotted out from behind the greenery they'd been hiding in, with waiting expressions for their human's to come already and ride them back to the palace.

"Well..._why_ did they want to hurt you?" John tried again, his wet hair clinging to his face as Harmony's did the same to her own.

"I-I don't know." Harmony repeated, looking at John with so much pain that he was forced to look away. "I just...I don't know John. I don't know." Finally having enough of it, the girl collapsed in a puddle of silent sobs. John wasted no time in pulling her close to him—though he was still breathing heavily—as Harmony rested her head against his bare, very muscley chest and cried silent sobs of pain.

"Do you want to go back in now? We only have about an hour and a half before the ball..." Dusk had finally set in, but John refused to leave if Harmony didn't want to. By now, the young couple was completely dried off—well, excepting Harmony's long locks—and they were sitting on the sandy beach next to each other. John had wasted to time in getting as faraway as he could from that forest with Harmony, but the girl wasn't ready to go inside the palace just yet. She was still pretty shaken from what had happened.

"J-John?" Harmony's voice cracked, something that proved she'd been sobbing. "I-I'm...that was a crappy birthday gift. I'm sorry." Harmony finally said aloud, but she said not a word about her recent contact with that information. Who were those people? Why did they want to hurt her so badly? What was going on that she didn't know of?

"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad your okay. You really scared me back there." _He was on the verge of death today, because of me, and he still worries about me_, Harmony thought with a sniffle and a weak smile up to him.

"J'taime." Harmony whispered softly, still letting her head rest against John's chest.

"Te amo." John whispered back what was usually Harmony's line, as he held onto her and hoped that she would be alright. She had to be, for him.

* * *

**Up next is the Ball...will everything go okay, or will it be a horrible repeat of Sketching Arpeggio's? There's only one way to find outt! If you review, i'll try and post this afternoon! Tonight I'm going to my cheezy school carnival with my friends (no parents either!) so hope that I don't throw up or anything! :D Bye! **

**P.S. You are SO lucky that I'm posting this now. It's 7:25, and my school starts at 8:00, so as you can see, this is sort of a rush job! **


	100. A Painful Bath

"Harmony Althea Benson, _where_ have you been?!" Ariel asked incredulously as she saw her daughter trying to avoid her mother, by practically running up the steps to her room. The girl had told John to use the back entrance to the palace; no doubt if Eric saw them two together he'd throw a fit, because, after all, Harmony was supposed to have been with Coral, not John.

"Um..." Harmony tried to make up a good excuse, but it was no match for the busy body her mother was turning out to be, as the woman practically started dragging her daughter up the steps.

"No, never mind that, I mean..._how_ could you have gotten so filthy in the span of three hours?!" Ariel's voice was admonishing as she dragged a teenager behind her. Harmony gave a half shrug at that; so she and John had thrown sand on her wet skin to try and cheer her up, leaving Harmony full of sand and ready to avenge herself.

"Well—" Once again, Harmony was cut off, by who else but her mother, as usual?

"There's only an hour until the ball, and you look like this! How am I ever going to get you clean enough?!" Ariel's voice was half admonishing, and half speaking to herself about this. There had to be something wrong with this girl. Honestly, for everything that she would have to get dressed up for—formal dinners with dukes and the such, balls, her own (first) wedding, etc—an hour before she's filthy!

"I don't look that bad!" Harmony protested, feeling like a child as she was dragged by her arm—tightly, because she had a history of making quick escapes—through various hallways and corridors. Ariel just rolled her eyes at her daughter's words, before pushing the girl into the bathroom.

"Oh yes you do." Ariel retorted, pulling off Harmony's wet shirt, and staring at the bikini top the girl was wearing underneath it. Letting her eyes trail warily to her daughter's face, and then back to the bikini top, the mother sighed and just shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask about why you're wearing that, because if I do, I _know_ I'm not going to like the answer to it." By the end of her sentence, Harmony had already been stripped and pushed into the soapy, but thankfully still warm, tub water.

"I don't even know how I put up with this." Ariel muttered to herself, taking one good look at her daughter and knowing for a fact that she wouldn't be able to get the girl clean enough in an hour for the ball. And that is why, only five minutes later, Harmony's loud complaints could be heard as both Carlotta and Ariel scrubbed at her.

"This counts as child abuse!" Harmony protested/clarified as her scalp was taken over by a scrub brush. Okay so maybe she shouldn't be joking around like that, seeing as how she had been subjected to abuse as a child; but hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, than who can you laugh at?

"Well you bring it upon yourself Princess." Carlotta tsked in reproach to the girl, who would have scowled, had it not been for the fact she knew what would happen to her if she did. "And be still already! Goodness, you're just like your mother at this age..." Carlotta muttered the last sentence to herself, as Harmony's eyes suddenly brightened, and looked over at her mother who flushed a shade of red.

"Not a word out of you Harmony or I'll have you grounded so fast that your head will spin." Ariel warned, seeing already that smirk across her daughter's lips and knowing what was coming next.

"Then ground me. I don't even _want_ to go to this stupid ball." Harmony grumbled again, but her grumble soon turned to a yelp of pain as she scowled at Carlotta, who didn't bother to look innocent. "That _stings_." Harmony said through clenched teeth at how much her open cut stung when soap was put into it.

"It will hurt a lot more if get's infected." Carlotta's voice said, of way to answer the girl, who gave another yelp as another one of her scrapes made contact with soap. Carlotta just rolled her eyes at the young princess's melodramatic attitude. "This wouldn't hurt whatsoever _if _you weren't such a tomboy and had to get so many scrapes." The housekeeper clarified, as Ariel watched the scene in front of her with a certain nostalgia. Ah those were the days...when her and Eric were just married, she wasn't pregnant, and somehow, she was always getting herself hurt...

"Hey! I'm not a tomboy! I just like to—" Harmony was suddenly cut off when water was splashed down onto her head, causing a mass of soapy bubbles that had just recently been in her hair, slide down into her open mouth.

"Wear pants? Play dangerous sports? Ride at breakneck speeds on your horse?" Ariel filled in, while still scrubbing the sand off of her daughter. Harmony gave a killer glare and scowl to her mother.

"Who's side are you on anyway?!" The girl asked, incredulously, pushing back her soaking wet hair as it kept coming in her face. See this is why she always had her hair up in a braid. But nooo...keeping it in a braid wasn't good enough for her mother. Or her father for that matter. 'You have beautiful red hair Harmony; stop pulling it back and let it show!' Stupid parents.

"The right side." Ariel responded with a laugh, as Harmony grumbled about something under her breath. "Face it honey; as horrible as it is for a young princess, you're a tomboy. Though how in how in the world that could happen, I have no idea..." Ariel said, sounding weary at the last part as she wondered how on earth one of her twin daughters is a tomboy, and the other is as girly as they come. But then again, that's life for you.

"Am not!" Harmony protested, but her protests fell upon deaf ears. Seriously, this was just annoying!

"Oh yes you are." Carlotta said with a snort. "Now then, for the hundreth time Princess, _be still!_"

* * *

**Well, I know I should have made a more serious chapter, but since this is my official hundreth chapter, I wanted to make it special, so therfore it's light and funny. Hope you guys liked it!**


	101. What Will Happen, and Why Are You Lying?

"Mhm, you're going to be a dream tonight." Ariel chirped, happily opening her daughter's wardrobe and looking through it for a ball gown. Harmony sat on her vanity chair, facing her mother with slumped shoulders. She fiddled with the edge of her camisole, before warily looking up at her mother, careful not to upset the towel that her hair was still in.

"Whatever." Harmony said, not paying attention really to her mother. She'd pushed these thoughts about what had happened at the forest aside when she'd been protesting she wasn't a tomboy...but now, the thoughts returned in full to the girl, who grimaced at them.

"Oh honey, you would look so beautiful if you wore this." Ariel's voice pulled Harmony from her somber thoughts, as the girl looked up at her mother to see...a pink monster of a dress. Okay, maybe she was overreacting, but really, didn't Ariel know by now that Harmony had a bad experience with pink?

"Um...no." Harmony said flatly, causing her mother to sigh take another look at the beautiful pink dress, before placing it back into the wardrobe. But just as soon as she was disappointed, did she cheer up again when she found another dress.

"How about this one sweetheart?" Ariel was more excited about this than Harmony, the mother realized with a slight frown as she looked over at her daughter, the dress in her hand. Why was the girl so difficult? That was three years ago; nothing would happen _now_.

"Sure. I guess." Harmony said glumly, slumping deeper into the chair as she pulled her arms tighter against her. The girl, so far, was wearing a strapless camisole and an 'underskirt, because your growing too old for bloomers' or whatever the hell _that _was supposed to mean. Harmony had a feeling Ariel wouldn't let her wear them because they were like pants, which the girl wore enough of around the palace. "Hey Mom?" Harmony suddenly asked, as Ariel had been focused on trying to smooth out the dress so that Harmony could wear it.

"What sweetheart?" Ariel asked, looking over at Harmony and noticing her daughter's glum attitude. What was wrong with that girl, the mother wondered. So maybe Harmony was never excited for balls, but she also was never so glum before them either.

"Why aren't _you_ dressed?" The question was one Harmony had been wondering about for awhile now, but she'd pushed the question aside...until now, that is. Ariel's expression turned from excited for getting her daughter to the ball...to one of just downright exhaustion.

"Honey...your father and I are just so exhausted from today...that we're not going. Your old enough to go alone, and now that you have John..." Ariel winced ahead of time, as she set the dress on the chaise lounge (that Harmony refused to call a chaise and instead called it a couch, which was driving Ariel up a wall) as she looked back at her daughter with a hopeful expression. Harmony was anything but hopeful though.

"Y-You're not going?" The world seemed to be spinning for Harmony as she finally sat up, staring at her mother in shock. "I-I can't go! Wh-what if they, what if they start to push me, and then, then my dress will rip...all those, all those names...and then when I get home...Ryan...and the blood...there's so much blood...the dungeon is so cold...it hurts to walk...my arm hurts so much..." Harmony was lost in her own world now, deep in grief and pain. She might have let it go, but that didn't mean the memory of that one ball and the events it sparked wouldn't just be gone from her mind.

"Harmony, baby, look at me." Ariel's soft voice instructed, pressing both her hands to the side of her daughter's face so that she could bring it up to her own. "That was a long time ago, my darling. No one would dare hurt you now; I'd never allow that to happen to you again."

"But you won't be there. It'll happen." Harmony said, sniffling back her tears as she tore her face out of her mother's hands. But Ariel wouldn't allow her daughter to get off so easily, as she lifted the girl's chin up with one of her hand.

"Harmony, do you think I'd ever allow you to go without your father or I if I thought for just one minute that something awful would happen to you? You'll have John with you all night, and there _are_ guards. Trust me my little tune; nothing will happen. You'll be fine."

"I don't know..." Harmony's will was fading under her mother's gentle touch, and soothing, reasonable words. She never attended a ball without her parents; actually, in the three years since she'd been fourteen...she hardly attended any balls at all. Oh sure, an occasional one like every four months...but Ariel and Eric had seen the emotional toll such events took on Harmony, and had quickly stopped making her go to these balls.

"Everything will be alright sweetheart. Trust me." Would Harmony trust her mother, Ariel wondered briefly. Would Harmony ever get passed what Ariel had done to her, or would she forever be haunted by visions of her past. Probably the second one.

"Okay." Harmony said, unconvincingly at that. But, as Ariel had learned, you take what you get with Harmony and try to mold it into something you can actually use.

"Good." Ariel said with a smile, kissing the top of Harmony's head in comfort before pulling the girl up to her feet. Sure she probably should scold Harmony for her horrible posture, but then again, the girl had been like that since she was fourteen. And if in three years she couldn't change it, than by now it was almost impossible to do so. "Now, why don't we get you dressed? After all, it is Jonathan's birthday; you'll want to look your best for him." Not if he's already seen me in my best, Harmony thought with a small smirk in her mind, before look at her mother with a wondering expression.

"Mom?"

"Mhm?"

"...are there like, people in the Oak Wood Forest that like...I don't know...want to hurt me?" Harmony's questioned stopped Ariel from fastening up the back of her daughters dress, as the mother gaped, though her daughter couldn't see it.

"Where did you hear that?!" Ariel whispered her face paling at just the thought of it. Maybe Harmony didn't know about that group yet. Maybe it was all just a coincidence, and the girl was just wondering...

"I don't know. I just thought I heard someone mentioning it..." It seemed easier to lie than to tell Ariel what had really happened today, Harmony knew.

"Well, they must have the wrong idea, or maybe it's just a rumor." Ariel didn't want to lie, but what choice did she have? She wanted Harmony to have an alright life, and for that to happen, the mother _had_ to shield that information from her daughter.

"Yeah. Okay." Two thoughts swarmed in Harmony's head as she heard her mother's words.

One, how would this ball go? And two, why was Ariel lying to her?

* * *

**Well, we're back on track now with the serious chapters! :P Review!**


	102. Tense and Awkward, Eighteen Candles

"I'm scared." Harmony's voice was just barely above a whisper, as she clutched John's hand so tightly that the boy thought it would fall off. She was trying hard not to show that she was having a panic attack, though her heart raced in fear, her face was pale, and she could just feel a cold sweat starting up on her forehead.

"Don't be. Everything will be fine." John could only hope that his words came out as strong as they did in his mind. He knew of Harmony's problem with being in the public's eye...and he was hoping that nothing happened tonight. "Just focus on me, ma petite sorcière, and you'll be fine." John easily slid in his name for Harmony into his sentence, making the girl look up at him, for one moment, with eyes that actually believed him. But that was only for a moment, because a second later they switched to doubtful and Harmony tried to keep breathing normally.

"O-Okay." Harmony wished that right now, she was Emma. That instead of having to go to a ball, she was at home, sprawled on the couch watching T.V. How simple a life like that would be! "But don't—" Harmony's words were suddenly cut off as she heard the announcer dude's voice announce both her and John...but not the King or Queen. Her heart beat like a drum in her chest, as she winced slightly, before stepping down the steps slowly.

She knew what she would be met with, of course, when she went down the steps...and yet, she was still shocked. Everyone...all those people...their expressions were slowly changing from expectant for the King and Queen to arrive, to outraged and disgusted that it was only Harmony and John there. Their eyes became detached, unemotional as they saw the Princess ascend down the steps slowly; her hand clenching John's tighter and tighter. The usual roar of cheers and applause were gone, in its place only weak clapping coming from less than three people, and a few uneasy coughs of awkwardness.

In Westland, the people had heard about Harmony's past through rumor, and her powers in just the same way. But they merely brushed it off as nonsense, as they were just glad that their youngest Prince had found a beautiful Princess from a neighboring Kingdom to love. That's why they were all so happy when Harmony and John had come into the ballroom, and danced. But in Shireland...things weren't so easy.

For starters, the people knew that the rumors they heard weren't rumors, but the full truth. The fact that Melody had denounced her sister as a slut three years ago didn't help the cause. Yes, three years was a long time, but once someone gets a reputation—no matter if they'd done it or not—it didn't so easily go away. And then, when the girl had accidently killed Alec—though the boy couldn't remember at all how he had 'died', and no one was sure how exactly the Princess had killed him, if she had at all—it had caused more hatred to be instilled in her name. Though Harmony was the firstborn twin, the people reasoned that Princess Melody, who most definitely knew more about ruling than her sister, would become Queen of Shireland and Harmony would remain a spinster.

But then, in a blink of an eye, Melody was announcing her engagement and soon marriage to Prince Lance of Westland. With just a single pen flourish, the girl had signed off any rights to her crown in Shireland, and became, happily, the Princess of Westland, and would-be-Queen. And then there was one.

With no more Melody, the people had been forced to come to the terrible conclusion that _Harmony _would someday be their Queen. And it seemed that not only the kingdom mourned over this fact, because Harmony had begged, pleaded, cried, and even threatened her sister into not handing over her right to the crown, but in the end, Melody became the Princess of Westland, and Harmony the future Queen of Shireland.

Harmony tried to focus on dancing, and trying to celebrate John's birthday...but it was hard with all the stares. The music was weak, and the stares colder than ice, but Harmony just looked at John, hoping it didn't show on her face how much she wanted to just bolt from here. When finally, the waltz ended—halfway through—there was no applause for the young couple, or cheers, or anything but a tense, awkward silence.

John stood awkwardly next to Harmony, unused to such horrible behavior from a Kingdom. No bows, no curtseys, no applause, no smiles, no laughs...no nothing when they came down. And the music was next to terrible, seeing as how it had started out so scratchy and weak that by midway it had stopped completely. His brown eyes darted left to right, unknowing of what to do at a time like this.

Harmony pulled John away from the center of the ballroom, and off more to a secluded corner of the place. When it seemed as though the young couple wouldn't be dancing any longer, the music started again, this time with more strength and a lighter tune, as people filled the dance floor, finally laughing and dancing and clapping and cheering in their happiness. But not to Harmony and John.

Feeling a bit...weird because of all of this, John suggested that he should get some champagne for him and Harmony, and left the girl's side with a kiss to her cheek and a promise he'd be back in a moment. Harmony watched as he expertly slipped through the crowd of people, blending in with them so that they never had a clue that he was among them. And that's when Harmony, feeling a bit brave after seeing John slip in and out of the crowd, tried to do the same.

She managed to slip next to a girl about her age without so much as a sound, and she smiled sweetly at the girl, though her heart felt anything but sweet. "Hi. I'm Harmony." The Princess extended her hand politely to the girl...but all she got a clearly 'ugh, you want me to touch _that_' look that the girl barely bothered to hide.

"Charmed." The girl answered back to the Princess, her voice detached and her eyes staring straight ahead at the dancers who took no notice that the Princess had come away from her little corner. She purposely ignored Harmony's outstretched hand, as she watched with a satisfied gleam in her eyes as it dropped to Harmony's side. But Harmony wasn't going to give up so easily.

"So...um...nice weather, huh?" She sounded like a desperate adult, Harmony realized with a twinge of regret in her mind. She should have never come near here. She should have just hidden herself away in that corner of the ballroom all night long and everything would have been fine.

"I suppose." The girl answered back vaguely, before straightening up as she saw Harmony's mouth open again. "Excuse me." The girl said curtly, not bothering to hide the contempt in her voice as she maneuvered her way past Harmony, and back to her group of friends. And though Harmony pretended to be transfixed with the dancers, and pretended she heard not a word that was said from the group of teenage girls who were her age...she did. She heard their giggles, she heard their whispers about her, she heard their comments...it was all the girl could do not to cry as she felt memories from her past start to come up to her mind.

"If you drink enough, you might feel better." John's smooth voice as next to Harmony in an instant, his arms wrapped around her waist, as he handed a glass of champagne to the girl. Harmony didn't bother to ask how he knew she wanted to forget about the memories; she just gulped down the bubbly liquid, before clutching the glass so hard in her hand that it actually started to melt. "Forget about them Harmony. They're just being bitches." John's words were of little comfort to Harmony, though his voice tickled her ear.

It's needless to say that the ball ended early, two hours early, which meant it only lasted for an hour. Harmony did what she'd seen her parents do a hundred times over; stand at the exit and try and say goodbye to everyone, while they said their goodbyes too, and complimented the King and Queen on the ball. But her goodbye's that had started off strong to everyone...slowly became weaker and weaker as she saw the people wouldn't even _look_ at her or mutter a simple thank you for being invited. Even the musicians packed up and left; actually, they were one of the first to leave. And so slowly, but surely, everyone left the castle, and practically ran to their carriages so that they could be gone from the Princesses presence.

The lights in the ballroom all went out. In the darkness of the room, John could still make out his birthday cake which hadn't even been touched, much less eaten. Harmony followed his gaze for a moment, before sighing a soft sigh, and walking over to the cake.

Using her fingers as a lighter, the girl lit all eighteen candles, making a soft glow arise in the ballroom. She then turned to John, trying to put on bravado as she refused to cry.

"Make a wish." Harmony choked out, pointing at the cake and gulping back her tears. John tried to get nearer to Harmony and soothe her tears, but the girl wouldn't have it, as she ripped off a handful of pins that had kept her hair up and secure all this time. The ball was over. She didn't need her hair up any more.

"Harmony...I know this was bad, but...things will look up. They'll figure out that their all assholes sooner or later, and if they don't, then I'll personally tell them to their faces, because what they were doing...to you..." John broke away then, disgusted at this kingdom's lack of respect. Not just because of Harmony's title, no, because the fact that they had looked at her like she was just a pawn. Like she was only there to fill in the spaces, for now, and as soon as possible, they'd get rid of her because she was useless. The thought of it made John furious.

"Ju-just forget it. Don't let me ruin your birthday. Bl-blow out your can-candles...lick the fro-frosting...be happy. I-I'll see you to-tomorrow." With that, Harmony gave a soft sob, as she kicked off her shoes and ran to her room, so that she could forget this nightmare.

John gave a heavy sigh as he watched Harmony run off. His throat closed at just the sight of her in pain, but he knew her better than anyone, and he knew that she wouldn't want him to follow her. She'd rather be alone for awhile, and when she was ready, she'd talk. Looking at his birthday cake that had eighteen candles alighted, John figured that if he had to blow out every candle, than it must mean he was entitled to eighteen wishes, right? So the boy did the only thing he could think of right now; he blew out his eighteen candles, and made eighteen wishes.

And each one of them was for Harmony.

* * *

**Well...I cried while writing this chapter. :( It's so sad! ANyway, review!**


	103. What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

"Harmony, sweetheart...oh baby, I'm so sorry." Harmony blearily opened her eyes to the sound of her mother's almost tearful voice. The girl could fuzzily make out the image of her mother over her, but she was to tired to actually care. Rolling over in her bed, Harmony buried herself deeper into the sheets, mumbling something about five more minutes. But Ariel wouldn't let the girl get some much needed rest as the mother was too filled with guilt. "I-I didn't know they would all be so...so cruel towards you, my darling. I-I'm so sorry. I should have been there. I should have never let you go by yourself; I'm so sorry." Finally unable to get back to sleep, Harmony gave an annoyed sigh as she turned over on her back and looked up at her mother blearily.

"Okay, I'll bite." The girl yawned, rubbing her eyes as she started to sit up. "What did you do to me _this_ time?" Harmony meant to make her words sting her mother, a jab at her awful parenting during the girl's fourteenth year...but that only seemed to make Ariel look worse, making something strange fester inside of Harmony. Guilt. Was this how normal people felt like when they had done something wrong? It wasn't a good feeling; _that_ was for certain.

"Th-The ball last night. I heard what happened...oh honey, I didn't know they would...if I had just _been_ there...they would have been so much kinder...I just didn't know that it would be so...so terrible...and awkward...and tense...I'm so sorry baby." Ariel tried to make sure that the tears she had in her eyes, didn't fall down her face. She was...so angry that she was sad. How could the people of her kingdom have been so cruel to her daughter? What, it's okay to accept a mermaid as your Queen, but not a witch as your Princess?

"Oh, that." Harmony yawned, waving it off. Last night...she'd run away from Jonathan because she'd been so frustrated that she was in tears. But after awhile of crying, she remembered what she had promised herself she'd do from now on. She wasn't going to just sit around and cry. She was determined to stand up, and show this world that, hey, she wasn't a little girl anymore, and she could no longer be bullied by them. Somehow, someway, someday, she'd make them all know that she was here to stay. "I'm over it. They were all just being...well, assholes. But whatever, I'm cool." Harmony said with a shrug, flopping back on her pillow.

"Harmony, language." Ariel chastised automatically, making her daughter roll her eyes, before the girl slipped deeper into the sheets of her bed. Ariel's features switched from chastising her daughter, to worried for the girl as she brushed strands of the girl's red hair away from her face. "Honey...are you...feeling alright?" Ariel pressed her the back of her hand against her daughter's cheek, but it was to no avail as she realized the girl wasn't running a fever. She'd been expecting Harmony to cry...to blame her mother, though Ariel was already blaming herself for not being there...and yet, the girl did nothing but brush it off as though it had never happened.

"Yeah Mom. I'm *yawn* fine. Why?" Harmony's voice was thick in sleepiness, as the girl moved her body a bit, getting more comfortable in her large (well, large in Harmony's mind, which is of course, tiny in castle standards) bed.

"You're just...not acting like yourself." Ariel said slowly, her worry filling her tone so much that even Harmony, who was half asleep, could hear it. "Sweetheart...did you...hit your head, or anything last night? Maybe you tripped...or crashed into a wall..." Something was wrong with Harmony. And Ariel was going to find out what it was, not matter what.

"I'm _fine_ Mom." Harmony said, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "I'm just not being a big baby about last night, that's all. They're trying to get to me, but I won't let them. I'm going to show them all that Harmony Benson isn't going to sit backseat just because of them." Harmony's words were strong, even in her half asleep. It was a firm resolution, an 'I can do it' type of attitude which stunned Ariel for a moment. She was just so used to Harmony's depressed states...that this new attitude really took the mother off guard.

"That's...very..._mature_ of you darling." Ariel finally said, trying to find the right words to fit. "And...I'm proud of you for how you acted last night. You acted like a true Queen." Ariel gave a small smile at that, as she realized how well Harmony would do as a monarch...until she heard a sigh from under the pillow.

"Yeah sure. Whatever." Harmony made sure her voice was muffled and indifferent to her mother. She didn't want to be a Queen....hell, she couldn't even lead Bris to a trough; how the hell was she supposed to lead an entire country!

"What's wrong honey?" Ariel asked gently, immediately catching onto the fact that her daughter sounded...like something was wrong. Maybe Harmony wasn't over what happened last night after all...it would be likely, considering what had happened. Though Ariel hadn't been exactly there at the ball...she had her sources about what had happened. It hurt the mother, and the Queen, to know that her kingdom couldn't accept her...albeit, wayward, but still daughter.

"Nothin'." Harmony's muffled, tired voice said from under the pillow. Though Ariel gave a slight wince at her daughter's horrible grammar, she still stroked the girl's red hair gently.

"Harmony...this isn't just about what happened last night, is it?" Ariel questioned, though it was more rhetorical than anything. "Is there something you want to talk about? You know you can always tell me anything..." Ariel had spoken these words to one of her daughters before, ironically before the horrendous twelfth birthday party of Melody...but this time, she wasn't talking to Melody.

"Alright...but promise you won't get mad?" Harmony finally gave in to her mother's pleas, sitting up straight so that she could see her mother better. Ariel smiled comfortingly and nodded, brushing a lock of Harmony's hair behind her ear. "Well...okay...see...I don't _want_ to be a Queen. I'd rather be...a journalist. Dad already said that I could be an editor for the Shireland Gazette..." Harmony's voice was hopeful, anxious for her mother to understand...but Ariel's eyes just darkened, and her jaw tightened. Eric had been going behind her back...oh he was going to get it now, that much the redheaded Queen was sure about.

"Get dressed and get to school Harmony." Ariel finally said, as her daughter's brows rose, but the girl said not a word to the sudden totally bipolar change in her mother. "I'm going...I'm going to talk to your father." Ariel stood up then, officially resolved in her mind to kill her husband. But still, as thoughts of pre-meditated murder consumed her mind, she still leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her daughter's head. "Be safe." Ariel said, before walking out of her daughter's room and wondering if a high heel could be used as a weapon.

She'd find out soon enough.

**

* * *

**

**Don't be mad at me for not updating! It's 12:40 and I stayed up late to update ALL my current stories for you! And now, I'm tired, so goodnight, sleep tight, and as Timon would say, Dream of bed bugs tonight! I'll review all of your stories tomorrow, I promise!**


	104. Worried Mothers

"Eric Stephen Benson!" Ariel's yell echoed through the room she shared with her husband, as she slammed the door behind her in pure fury. Her fists clenched and unclenched in anger, and, if she could, there would have been flames shooting out from her eyes right now.

"Yes?" Eric said warily, turning for a moment to look at his wife, before returning to shaving. What was Ariel so mad about, he wondered. He knew that she had gone to wake up their daughter...that stopped Eric right there. Harmony must have done something to make Ariel furious...the thought made the father grimace briefly. It must have been bad, because it was rare that Ariel would use _his _full name. Harmony on the other hand...not so much?

"You told Harmony she could be an editor for the Shireland Gazette?!" Ariel practically roared in her anger. Eric nearly cut his flesh off with the razor in his shock. Thankfully, he managed to recover at the last second and save himself from bleeding to death.

"Darling—"

"Don't you dare 'darling' _me, _Eric." Ariel hissed angrily, as her husband gave a heavy sigh, and returned to shaving. He would have to just wait for his wife to calm down...if she could, that is. "Can you even imagine it?! The Princess of Shireland having a job, on the most prominent newspaper!" Ariel threw her hands up in the air, exasperated as she flopped down theatrically on her bed. "As if Harmony needs _more_ attention." Ariel's voice was calming down from fury to more incredulous, annoyance, and exasperation at just the idea of her daughter working.

"Ariel, she already works in Nebraska." Eric pointed out, but all he got in response was an annoyed sigh coming from the bed. Rubbing off his now smooth face with a towel, Eric stepped away from the wash basin and went to his wife.

"But that's in _Nebraska_, Eric." Ariel pointed out too, the fury now gone from her voice as she just sounded more exhausted than anything. "That's an entire _world_ away. In that world, she's...Katherine Johnson...a nobody. She's not Harmony Althea Benson, _Princess_ of Shireland..." Ariel let her voice trail off, wincing as a thought arose in her mind. No, impossible she chastised herself. She wasn't being anything like her father. She wasn't holding her daughter back from her dream. She was just...not letting her fly away too soon.

"Love...you know as well as I that Harmony...isn't exactly thrilled with the idea that she's a Princess. And she's even less thrilled with the idea that she's going to be Queen someday. Why not just let her work on the Shireland Gazette for a few months—at least then we'd be able to keep her under our supervision, since she'd be near home. And besides, it's Harmony. She's no stranger to attention. If it would keep her happy, I don't think she'd care what the Kingdom would think." Eric's smooth words reached Ariel's ears as she grimaced, shaking out her red locks and heaving a heavy sigh. She finally turned to face her husband, shaking her head in the process as though to shake off these thoughts.

"She's not going to work on the Shireland Gazette Eric, and that's final." Ariel said firmly, an edge to her words as she thought of it. "And besides, how would that even be accomplished, her working on the Shireland Gazette? The Kingdom hates her. That awful group wants to kill her. So do you think anyone would allow her near that paper, or better yet, _themselves_? Just look at what happened last night! The ball had to end _two hours early_, and barely anyone acknowledged her presence! Barely! They treated her worse than-than-than the bubbles they left in their wake!" Ariel's voice raised as her anger did too, her teeth clenching at just the thought.

"Bubbles?" Eric asked with a brow raised, as his wife jerked at his question, quickly giving a sigh and shaking her head. Though she'd lived on land for years and years now...it was hard for the woman to completely let go of her usual speech from when she was a child.

"I meant dirt they walk on." Ariel corrected herself softly for a moment, realizing her mistake, before shaking it off and looking back up at her husband. "The point is that...Harmony can't even _go_ to the village...because...what if someone decided to take it upon themselves to do what most in the kingdom want? To kill her."

There was despair in Ariel's tone, as the woman bit her lip, and closed her eyes a moment, willing herself not to cry. Just the thought of losing her baby...forever...after so many close calls and second chances...the thought was horrifying. And what was worse was that Harmony didn't even know...or if she did know, she didn't care. _That_ was apparent after Ariel's talk with her earlier.

"No one is going to harm her Ariel; you _know_ that I wouldn't let that happen to our little girl." Eric's gentle voice rang out with a firm undertone, trying to ease his wife's fears. But that was one fear that wouldn't disappear from Ariel's mind, no matter how hard she tried to make it.

"She's going to hate me for this." Ariel said softly, mostly to herself as she thought this out. She was doing this for Harmony's safety; it was the only way the girl would be alright. Looking back up at her husband, the redheaded beauty bit her bottom lip, with a slight pleading in her eyes. "Eric...please, until we can know for sure that Harmony life isn't in danger...don't let her off of castle grounds—unless she's going to Atlantica or school that is. And...please, my love, don't tell her anything about working for the Shireland Gazette; I'd hate for her to have a false hope..." Ariel bit her lip then, looking off as though she could erase her memories. She was trying to keep Harmony safe by limiting the girl to the palace grounds. And if the girl had the idea that she could work for the Shireland Gazette while that group was still out there...

"Are you _really_ that scared something is going to happen to her Ariel?" Eric asked warily, raising a brow. Ariel gave a nod, the pleading in her eyes to the limit. Eric threw his hands in the air as surrender, sighing now. "Alright, alright. I'll tell the guards not to let her off castle grounds. But I think your overreacting." Eric said with a sigh, shaking his head at his wife.

"Maybe I am Eric...but it's better safe than...dead."

* * *

**So what do you think? Is Ariel being too overprotective, or is she just worried about Harmony? And speaking of Harmony, where IS the little princess? Find out if you review!**

**P.S. I was about to post this when I realized I have 365 reviews! That's a full year! :D Thanks guys!**


	105. Guitars Are Not Weapons Child

"_...__break it loose  
Gonna keep 'em movin' wild  
Gonna keep a swingin' baby  
I'm a real wild child!" _

"How was that Seby?" Harmony asked with a bright smile, taking her loose red strands in her fingers and sloppily starting to braid it. Though she _really_ didn't want to be in Atlantica so soon after what had happened...she had no choice. She had a band to lead...and a small red crab to annoy.

"It's _Sebastian _child!" Sebastian adamantly stood by his point, but Harmony just rolled her eyes as only a teenager could and smirked at the crab. "And Coral, your late on da...Coral!"

"Later Seby." Coral hissed in between kissing her boyfriend/bass player Stephen. Harmony rolled her eyes at her cousin, as Cori made a face at his sister and her boyfriend have a make out session during band practice.

"Wat would your mothar say if she saw you kissin' like dis?! Wat would she say if she knew about the two of you?! GAH!" Sebastian panicked, using his claws to swim towards the two teenagers and pushing their heads away from each other. Both sent the crab a glare...but they didn't complain as they knew he had a point.

Coral knew that the moment her parents figured out that she was dating bad-boy Stephen...she'd be locked up in her room and Stephen would be kicked out of the band—if not killed on the spot. Really though, her family was just being way too overprotective and overbearing. So what if Stephen had a reputation for sleeping around with girls, and what if there was a rumor floating around that he had been drinking before his fifteenth birthday...he was _hawt_, and that was enough for Coral.

"When Mom and Dad find out, call me. I wanna be there to watch them kill you two." Cori said with a smirk, elbowing an equally smirkish Emma. It was nothing short of obvious that Cori had a crush on Emma; he followed her around like a lovesick puppy.

"I'll bring the popcorn." Emma volunteered with a smirk, moving her body so that she missed the elbow that was playfully thrown her way. Gawd, was this kid annoying or what? The girl had told him at least ten million times that she liked him _only as a friend_, and was going to keep it that way. Too bad Cori wasn't the type to give up so easily.

"Oh please. You're throwing a hissy fit over nothing Seby." Harmony said with an eye roll. "That's _such_ an amateur kiss." Harmony rolled her eyes again, just to prove her point as she let her fingers drum against the snare drum.

"That is _not_ an amateur kiss!" Stephen exclaimed, fully outraged at the fact that Harmony was calling him an amateur. Okay so maybe he wasn't as bad as his reputation made him out to be and maybe he was still a virgin while Harmony flaunted her un-virgin self...but that didn't mean she had the right to call his kissing amateur!

"It _so _was." Harmony answered back with a snort, sending an eye roll to John who smirked in reply. Harmony had had let John come with her to band practice because, hey, there was no telling what Eric would do to the boy if he was left all alone in the palace.

"Oh yeah? Than prove it. Show what us what a non-amateur kiss is." Coral shot back, as Sebastian, unsuccessfully, tried to keep a sense of normal in the band practice.

"You're supposed to be practicing, not kissin'! Oh mon, why do _I_ have to always babysit the teenagers?!" Sebastian moaned to himself, as every teenager in the room rolled their eyes at his melodrama.

"Fine." Harmony accepted the challenge. "_This_ is a real make out session, dumasses." With that, in a split second, Harmony wrapped her arms around John's neck and pulled him down to her level. Needless to say, he was...shocked, and completely caught off guard by the motion. But that doesn't mean he broke away.

"Ariel?!" A shocked voice made Harmony whirl around and immediately be on guard for her mother. But after a moment, realization dawned on the girl. Whoever had called had thought that she was her mother. Now that was just annoying. It wasn't unusual that Harmony was called by her mother's name accidentally, seeing as how they both looked so much alike. But it was starting to really get on the teenager's nerves. She wasn't anything _like_ her mother—save for physical appearance—so you can imagine the annoyance it was bringing upon the teen.

"For the sake of the fucking world, I'm _Har_-_mon_-_y_." The teenager sounded out her name in exasperation, an annoyed sigh leaving her lips at that. She took a minute to look over John and see how he was fairing with the aftermath of the kiss. So far, he was still in la la land. Boys, Harmony thought with a mental snort.

"Of course you are sweetie. It's just that you look _so_ much like your mother..." Attina trailed off uncertainly then, shaking off her awe. Harmony was the spitting image of Ariel—down to the last dotted I. It still shocked everyone in the family at how much one child could look like their mother. Quickly regaining herself, Attina warily looked over the group of teenagers—and a poor red crab looking as though if he had any hair, he'd be pulling at it right now.

The boy Harmony had been kissing so passionately just a moment ago still seemed to be in a sort of daze like state. His light brown hair fell across his forehead easily, a sort of messy look to it as though he hadn't bothered to brush it out. He had light brown eyes that seemed to dance in merriment as he looked over at Harmony. Who was he, Attina wondered, before looking back over her neice...who was refusing to look at her Aunt. Sigh.

Attina had been wondering if Harmony would ever come back to Atlantica again. She'd left so suddenly...but strangely enough, hadn't told her parents a word about what had happened. Why she would, the Queen had not a clue. But she did know that things couldn't just be left the way they were. Everyone felt some guilt about what had been said—Serene especially, since the child had not a clue what she had done to make her older cousin so mad that she would leave. So now, there was only one thing to do. Get Harmony alone. And Attina could see the perfect opportunity.

"What's that on your arm Harmony?" Harmony looked down at her arm, puzzled at her Aunt's strange words. Sure enough, there was a large red rash about three inches long. Come to think of it, her arm did have a burning like feel about it...but the girl had just brushed it off as another one of her untold injuries.

"Ooh! I know! It's a flesh eating disease!" Coral clamored, trying to get a better view of Harmony's arm, before looking up at her cousin with a grin. "You're going to die within the hour." The girl announced, a bit too happy about that.

"Quick, someone get the party decorations!" Emma's voice chimed in, teasing her friend, and sister-from-another-mister.

"I will!" Cori clamored for the opportunity to join in on the joke, and win favor withEmma...but the girl just looked at him with an 'ugh, not this again' expression while Stephen laughed.

"You just got told." Stephen informed the younger boy, who sent him a scowl, as he was using one of the many phrases he'd picked up from being around Harmony.

"You're going to die tragically young." John gave a fake-heavy sigh at that, before brightening up and poking Harmony in the ribs. "Guess I'll have to find a new fiancée. I heard the Princess of Glaurehaven is pretty hot..." Just two days at school with Harmony, and he was already using popular phrases like he'd been doing it his whole life. If Harmony wasn't so annoyed, she would have been much prouder.

"You know, what's funny is that I can literally send _you_ to an early grave John, with just a simple *accident* with one of my spells..." Harmony shot back, though there was a teasing edge to her voice. John just wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"Fine then. I guess I'll have to meet you in hell, oh wicked one." John couldn't resist the teasing smile on his lips at that, and Harmony's grin was well matched, despite the eye roll from every teenager—and Seby for that matter—in the room.

"Coral, apologize. You _know_ it's not a flesh eating disease." Attina finally decided to step in, as she looked over at John and Harmony and couldn't resist the teensiest of knowing smiles on her lips. So, this was the mysterious John that had captured Harmony's heart. And Attina could see why. Unlike the other boys...John seemed to be fine with the death threats made by Harmony—even matching it with his own dry humor.

"We can't know that for sure mother." Cori intervened, smirking at Harmony who stuck out her tongue at him. Stupid boy cousins.

"Cori, that's enough." Attina's sharp motherly command made the boy immediately shut his trap, though his sister couldn't stop smirking at him. "And Coral, wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you." The smirk was immediately replaced by a scowl on Coral's face, which seemed to satisfy Attina better.

"Harmony, sweetheart, come with me. You need some lotion for that arm of yours." Attina ultimately decided, as her niece gave a slight eye roll at that. "And the rest of you, please, make Sebastian's life easier and _be good_." There, that should make Sebastian somewhat happy that she was sticking up for him, Attina thought with a slight grin to herself as she grabbed her niece's other arm and dragged the girl out of the music room.

In the distance, she could vaguely make out the terrified words "Guitars are not weapons child!" and the woman thought she heard a thick, Jamaican accent with those words...but she didn't turn back to confirm her suspicions.

* * *

**Me tired. I'm on spring break now, since Wednesday, to Monday of not this coming week, but the week after. Isn't that awesome? Anyway, review! I'm tired, I'm going to sleep now!**


	106. An Aunt and Niece Talk

"Here, sit down." Attina said, forcing her seventeen year old niece to sit in a chair in the unofficial infirmary of the palace. Really, it was more of a holding place for bandages, and other items that were a need when you had sometimes more than eight children rough housing with each other when they weren't supposed to. "Now let me see your arm."

"I'm _fine_." Harmony said in an exasperated voice, keeping her arm away from her Aunt. Attina only gave a soft, barely audible sigh at that as she wrestled Harmony's arm out of the crossed motion it had been resting in in front of the girl's chest.

"'Fine' my tail." Attina snorted, but gently as she looked over the rash on her niece's arm. Her brows furrowed for a moment as she realized where she recognized the rash on the girl's arm from. "Harmony, did you touch fool's weed by accident?"

"What's fool's weed?" Harmony wondered, blinking in confusion at her Aunt's words. Attina also blinked in confusion. How did the girl not know what fool's weed was? Everyone knew what it was, and what it could did when you touched it!

"You know...it looks like sea weed...its yellow and brown...and it starts to hurt after awhile..." Attina tried her best to explain it, though Harmony looked clueless as ever. The woman sighed. How could Harmony look so much like her sister and mother, and be completely different from them personality wise? "Never mind dear. You probably just brushed up against it without knowing. Now stay still; this is going to sting a little."

Attina poured an alcohol like substance onto Harmony's burning arm...and then looked up for a reaction from her niece. The girl didn't even blink; it's as though she couldn't even feel the pain. It was...strange, to say the least. What was even worse was that Attina could actually _feel _and _see_ up close the horrible cut marks that Harmony had inflicted onto herself. Some of them were still just days old...and Attina knew very well what had made Harmony start cutting again, days ago.

"Just let me bandage this up, and you can go back to the music room." Attina's voice seemed awkward in the silence of the room. Harmony finally looked up at her Aunt, her blue eyes just the same as her mother's before her...but somehow, completely different.

"Don't bother." Harmony said quietly, her voice echoing in the room. Her Aunt look startled for a moment at her words, but Attina was quick to regain herself. Harmony tore her arm away from her Aunt, poking at the rash that had some type of weird lotion on it now.

"Don't bother bandaging it?" Attina filled in, guessing as best she could. Harmony gave a slight nod, still warily poking at her rash. "Why not?" If Harmony was about ten years younger, this would have been adorable. But the girl wasn't.

"If anyone sees a band aid on my arm...they're gonna think I've been cutting. If they think I've been cutting...I'm not only going to get a lecture, I'm going to get those stupid pitied looks, as if I'm some type of kid who can't control myself. And if they give me the pitied looks, then they're going to start gossiping, and I don't feel like dealing with that right now."

There was an edge to Harmony's voice, a raw, almost hurt edge to it, Attina realized. She let her green eyes study the teen in front of her...and she was a bit shocked when she came to a simple realization. This wasn't just a teen...in front of her was a little girl, who was hurting and wanted everything to be...well, better.

"You know no one wants to hurt you Harmony." The Atlantican Queen said softly, as Harmony snorted in disbelief at her words. "Things just happen...and well..." Attina had no choice to trail off. She couldn't find the right words to finish what she had just started.

"Do _you_ think I'm like my mom?" Harmony asked quietly, switching subjects so that she could get an answer to the question she'd been wondering about for awhile now. So many people called her by her mother's name, so many people would study her and make some comment about how she was like Ariel. Really, it was just...just..._annoying_.

"Now where did that come from?" Attina murmured, her brows pulling together for a moment as she looked up at her niece. Then her brows started to raise high, expecting an explanation. Harmony gave a half hearted shrug, looking down at her sky blue fins and shaking her head.

"I don't know. It's just that...everyone expects me to be like her. Even _she_ expects me to be like her. It just makes me feel..." Here Harmony gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head again as if to try and take those thoughts away from her troubled mind.

Usually, she'd tell Athena this and her grandmother would understand...but...it seemed better to tell her Aunt about it this time. After all, Attina knew what it was like to have your whole life planned out for you. From the time she was a child, the firstborn girl, everyone had known she'd be future Queen.

"It makes me feel like...I have no say in my own life, you know? Like...everything is just mapped out on this straight path, and no matter how many times I try to get off that path, I can't. It's like...I'm trapped." Harmony finally admitted, giving another sigh as she rested her chin on her tail. Attina was silent a moment, thinking over this, before reaching out to her niece and tucking a stray strand of that bright red hair behind her ear.

"Shouldn't you be telling your mother about this?" Attina asked softly, squeezing her niece's hand reassuringly to soothe the girl's upset feelings. Harmony barked out a laugh, her eyes suddenly looking farther away than normal.

"I tried...but she doesn't get it. I want to be a different person than her...but how can I when I'm not given the chance?" It was more a rhetorical question, and Harmony didn't expect her Aunt to actually answer it. But she was surprised when Attina did answer.

"You can't." A surprised Harmony looked up at her Aunt Attina, who suddenly had a faraway look in her eyes. "When your name comes up, you want people to think of _you_, not your father—er, mother, in your case. And it's hard to separate yourself from his—er, _her_—shadow, because of the rules and every other factor that's in this strange equation we call life." Attina paused a moment, before looking back at Harmony with a sympathetic knowing in her eyes.

"But, trust me sweetheart, in time, everything will figure itself out. And you have plenty of time; considering your still just seventeen. _And _you have a cute fiancée to kiss with all that time." Harmony turned beet red at that, making her Aunt laugh out loud, shaking her head. For a moment, she leaned over and gave her niece a motherly peck on the cheek, before looking over the rash on the girl's arm again and deeming it non-dying-worthy.

"Will you stay for dinner honey? I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind too much, and besides, I want to get to know that boy better..." Attina trailed off, smiling as Harmony's face turned almost the same shade of her hair, and the girl made a face.

"No thanks. I hate eating vegetarian food." Quickly realizing what she had just said, Harmony tried to correct herself, her face getting even hotter. "Uh-um...what I mean is...uh..."

"What you mean is you're not too fond of Atlantica—or being a mermaid for that matter." Attina filled in, a motherly look of amusement etched across her face as Harmony sheepishly made a grimace.

"How'd you figure it out?"

"I wouldn't suggest a career in acting, let's just say." Attina answered, smiling. That was one thing about Harmony that almost everyone had to love. Though the girl could hold a grudge, she could also easily forgive without the words ever being spoken aloud. "Now," Attina said, leaning closer to her niece, "tell me more about this 'John'." Attina smiled in amusement when Harmony gave a loud groan. Great. In school, every conversation turns to sex. In Atlantica, every conversation turns to Harmony's beau.

How was she going to get out of _this_ one?


	107. Nightime

"Sweetheart? Are you asleep?" Ariel's hushed voice asked, in case her daughter was fast asleep. But Harmony was awake as ever, and the girl sat up in her bed, making her door swing wide open—in a quiet way though.

"Naw. I'm awake." Harmony said, sighing and shaking her loose red hair out of her face. Ariel stepped into the girl's room, her expression ranging from disapproval to amusement, and just a tiny bit of a grimace at the girl's horrible grammar. "Couldn't sleep."

"Is there something troubling you honey?" Ariel asked, her voice soothing and gentle and it made Harmony close her eyes for just a moment, as she could hear that same voice in her head...a long time ago...and then...nothing. Blank. Harmony gave an annoyed sigh at that. Every time she tried to remember something about her first year before she disappeared, she just hit a wall. It was starting to get quite annoying.

"Major math test tomorrow...I'm not so sure I'm going to do that great." Harmony answered, starting to bite her nails in worry. For once in her life, she had a simple, teenage problem. She was scared she wouldn't do well on a test. That was it. That was all what she was worrying about, at the moment. Sure, there were other thoughts that lingered in her mind, but she managed to drive those other thoughts away as she worried about math.

"Did you study?" Ariel asked, though weary in and out, she was still alert. Eric would be coming up to probably give his daughter a goodnight kiss in a few minutes, but for not, it was just Ariel.

"Yeahhh...." Harmony drawled out, keeping up with biting her finger nails. Ariel brushed her hand aside, a slight challenge in her eyes for Harmony to even dare try and bite them again.

"Than I'm sure you'll do fine. John has been tutoring you, correct? And it seems like you know the material...I think your just worried over nothing." It was true. Amazingly to Ariel and Eric, Harmony was finally understanding math, with John as her ever so helpful tutor. Maybe it was because all of her tutoring lessons had at least one make out session in them, or maybe it was because he had bribed her with—what else—kissing to finally understand the problems.

"I guess." Harmony said, not at all convinced, before she looked back up at her mother and grinned. "How was the dinner party?"

John and Harmony had eaten alone, together at the usual dinner time because Ariel and Eric had a formal dinner that night. Harmony had nearly jumped for joy when she'd been told she didn't have to go—mostly because, like it or not, it _was_ a school night, and Harmony had already gone to a not so great ball on Monday, also a school night. As Ariel and Eric had put it, 'None of your teachers need you in a bad mood from staying up late for _two_ days straight'.

"It went smoothly." Ariel's voice was smooth, but there was a lot of weariness behind it. The dinner had gone fine enough, but Ariel had been itching to _really_ hurt a lot of the people at the dinner for their behavior at John's birthday. But, as Queen, she had to remain poised and proper, no matter how much she wanted to reach out and strangle Lady-whatever and Sir-I-could-care-less.

"No food fights?" Harmony asked, one brow raised with a cocky grin, looking just like her father. Ariel had to give a laugh at that, as she shook her head at her daughter. Ariel, of course, was looking fabulous in an off the shoulder type gown that looked like the sea itself. Really, Harmony mused, how was it that her mother—who was seventeen years older than her—could pull off a gown such as that, but her seventeen year old daughter couldn't. Some things were just unfair.

"No, no food fights." Ariel said, smiling after her laugh. It was nice to be with her daughter, if only a few minutes. The woman saw her for a few minutes in the morning, and, not considering right now, hadn't seen her all day.

"Bor-ring." Harmony said with a snort, rolling her eyes as her mother wanly smiled at her. The girl wasn't so far off from the truth. It _was _boring. Ariel would rather have been at the beach, or spending some alone time with her family...but, she had to do what was best for her Kingdom. "Did, uh, anyone say anything about, um, last night?" Harmony asked nervously, as Ariel's shoulder's dropped and she let out a sigh.

"No honey, not a word." Noticing the hurt in her daughter's eyes, Ariel reached out a hand to tuck away a few strands of her red hair behind the girl's ears. "Are you _positive_ that you don't want to talk about last night?" Ariel prodded, hoping to have her daughter really talk about what she was feeling. But Harmony just let out a heavy sigh, and shook her head at her mother. Ariel decided to leave the subject at that.

"I'd rather talk about...you know, what I told you this morning...about...being a journalist?" Harmony ended her sentence with a weak question because, for right now, she was afraid Ariel would...not let her do what she wanted.

"Harmony, about that, you see—" Ariel suddenly cut off her sentence, as she looked behind her quickly when she heard the door to her daughter's room open and close.

"Christ, you _really_ need to work on your timing." Harmony said with an eye roll, flopping backwards on her bed dramatically. Eric just smiled at his daughter, an easy going smile as though he knew she didn't mean it. He, of course, was dressed in his Navy suit, the white with gold and blue accents making him match—intentionally or unintentionally—with his wife.

"I think we have a _prima donna_ on our hands Ariel." Eric finally said, good naturedly as he leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of Harmony's head. The girl shot him a scowl at that, but it only made Ariel laugh lightly.

"More like a bookworm." Ariel said, pulling back the covers that were on her daughter and lifting out the book that Harmony had been trying to hide from her mother. Harmony looked sheepish at that, while Ariel was more bemused. "What's _this_ one about?" Ariel murmured, flipping through the pages of the book with an arched eye brow.

"A unicorn battle to the death." Harmony answered, her sheepishness leaving as a smug look came across her face. Both her parent's shared looks over her head—looks that the girl caught easily—before shaking their heads at their daughter and leaving the subject alone. "So me and John—"

"John and I." Both parents corrected at the same time, before looking at each other and grinning. Harmony only rolled her eyes.

"John and _I,_" The girl exaggerated heavily, quirking a brow up as though she dared her parents to correct her again. "were gonna go to that old tree at the end of the village, you know, the one that's like, awesome to climb. That's cool right? We can go after school?" Harmony asked in a conversational tone, feeling the awkward silence that had descended upon her and her parents after she stated what her book was about just a bit claustrophobic.

"You can't go. You're grounded." Ariel blurted the first thing that came to her mind, before biting her lip and creasing her brows. Eric raised one of he eyebrows at that, but his daughter's jaw dropped clean to the floor.

"Are you serious?! But that's not fair!" Harmony argued, outraged by this. "That vase was ancient anyway! C'mon, it was like, a gazillion years old! And the west wing is _perfect_ for kicking a soccer ball in the air, with those high ceilings! How did you even know about that?!" Harmony was outraged, and shocked that her mother knew that it was her fault that stupid vase had gotten broken. The woman must have camera's all over the place, because there wasn't anyone near Harmony when the accident occurred...or when the girl quickly hid the pieces of the vase underneath one of those huge rugs.

"We didn't. You just told us." Eric said, locking his jaw as he looked disapprovingly down at his daughter, who seemed to shrink underneath his gaze.

"I was _acting _Dad. Sheesh, you take everything out of proportion." Harmony did a convincing job lying, but after three years her mother and father knew how to pick out her lies easily.

"A guilty conscious never lies Harmony." Ariel reminded, in a firm voice. "And, your father and I have told you at least a thousand times not to play with that ball _inside_. You're not allowed off palace grounds—excluding school and Atlantica—until we say you're not grounded any longer." Somehow or another, this was turning out better than Ariel had thought it'd be. She'd thought it be horrible to tell the teen that she wasn't allowed off palace grounds without a good reason, and now she had an actual reason. Maybe she should use this as a threat more often to find out what happened to missing things around the palace...hm...

Harmony made a noise that sounded like she was truly outraged, as she sat right back up and stared down her mother. "You're being so damn unfair that it's not even funny!" The girl was slipping more into her country accent, both parents noticed, though Harmony had no idea about this. "I mean, ya'll can't just ground me for breaking a—" Harmony stopped suddenly, noticing how her thick country accent was coming out of her mouth.

The girl flushed almost as red as her hair in her embarrassment. Back in Amherst, her accent would just blend in with everyone else's...but in Shireland, she sounded like an uncultured ape with her accent was fully around. Thankfully though, her parents were understanding. Sort of.

"A country princess...well, that's a new take on the old story." Eric said, with an easy grin to his daughter to put her more at ease. Ariel gave a light laugh, shaking her head and she looked back at her husband.

"Stop it." She scolded him, playfully though. "Not every Princess is the cliché prim, pink, and proper story book one that you see, Eric." Ariel had a teasing tone to her words, but they took her daughter's embarrassment away...only to be replaced by awkwardness. She felt like she was intruding on her parents...when they were freaking flirting in _her_ room!

"I learned that the hard way." Eric agreed, a still easy going smile on his lips.

"Well, since you guys are in such a great mood and all, does this mean I'm on parole? I mean, seriously, it _was_ a stupid vase..." Harmony butted in, before Ariel could start batting her eyes. Her parents suddenly looked...tense.

"No, you're not on 'parole'. Your _still _grounded sweetheart." Harmony gave a loud, Homer-Simpson-like groan at that. Ariel just smiled, though her smile did seem a little...hard? Tense? It was all just weird for Harmony, who gave a yawn at that.

"Get to sleep Harm. It's late." Eric said, smiling at his daughter's childlike quality. God, what was he going to do when she was married?

"Not gonna go to sleep 'till I'm not ground—*yawn*."

"Hush." Ariel chastised, already pushing the girl back to her pillow as she started to tuck her in. Gently, the mother took off the girl's thick black glasses—that she'd been wearing a whole lot lately—and folded them neatly into their case, before setting it down on the girl's nightstand. Though Ariel herself had never been to Nebraska, she was sure such thick, black glasses such as the one's Harmony had couldn't be fashionable. She was going to have to make a mental note to herself to get the girl a decent pair.

"You know, I'm seventeen years old, not seven. I don't need my parents to tuck me in." Harmony's voice came out tired, but firm as her parents exchanged a look that said all. Yes, at seventeen Harmony was quite old to be tucked in...but when the girl was seven, Eric and Ariel hadn't been there to tuck her in, so they were kind of making up for lost time.

"Go to sleep Harmony." Ariel ordered, as Harmony rolled over to look up at her mother and give an indignant snort. Ariel only looked at the girl with raised brows, her arms crossed over her chest as though to say 'don't mess with the bull sweetheart, or you'll get the horns'. And sure enough, Harmony couldn't quite manage to not look like a child, as she started to drift off into dreamland, both her parents tucking her in and giving her a kiss goodnight.

* * *

**Updated all my stories as an apology for not updating in soo long...so tired..review...**


	108. Escape!

Harmony really did try to follow her parent's strict 'don't go off palace grounds' rule for as long as she could, she really did. But...this was Harmony. She couldn't stay in one place for too long a time; it was just too...claustrophobic. Of course, she knew her punishment could be worse. She could be on house arrest and only be allowed to school and back to the palace. But...yes, that little word that had caused her nightmares, for the most part, to disappear, came into play again.

Harmony leaned low on her horse, so that her mouth was next to his ear. They were riding around the small (again, palace standards small) chorale that was usually used to exercise the horses when no one was using them. But, since Harmony wasn't allowed off castle grounds, she was forced to use it if she wanted to ride.

"You think you can clear that fence?" The girl whispered, her eyes darting once to the coral gate. She couldn't ride her horse outside of the coral because, by now, the stable hands knew that the Princess was one for making quick getaways.

_In my sleep. _Bris snorted at that, making Harmony give a grin.

"Ask Maybelle if she can." Harmony whispered, looking next to her. Of course, John was riding next to Harmony in the chorale, not paying any attention to her as he was lost within his thoughts. It'd been a good two weeks since he'd started school with Harmony. It was Wednesday afternoon, and the feeling of school winding down was in the air in school and out. Prom would be this Saturday, and then, next Monday would be his graduation...and wedding day.

Brisinger neighed something quietly, his head turning ever so slightly in the direction of Maybelle. His ear cocked to the side as he listened to her neighs, and a horsey smirk appeared on his huge lips.

_She says she can. _Brisinger translated, as a satisfied smile appeared on Harmony's lips. Looking over her shoulder, she saw one of the stable hands, Adam, watching her closely, suspicion all over his face. Then looking forward, Harmony saw her big break.

The castle gates were just starting to close behind some messenger who was riding on a horse. If she acted fast, she could have Bris flying over the fence, and be out in the village in no time. With her heart beating fast, Harmony leaned lower to give her horse her quick instructions.

"On the count of three, let's bust outa here. 'K?" Harmony asked anxiously, thanking god that the castle gates were heavy and so they had to close slowly. The messenger was just riding in now, slowly too as though he wasn't concerned at all. This was going to be a piece of cake.

That's the smartest thing you've ever said. Brisinger snorted again, another horsey smirk on his lips as Harmony rolled her eyes. Turning casually over to John as Brisinger repeated what she had just said to Maybelle, the girl made it seem as though nothing was up.

"Hold on tight." John jerked out of his thoughts when he heard Harmony's words, and he looked at her with furrowed brows. But he would never get the chance to question her, because it was on that exact moment that Harmony, who had been counting down quietly, screeched out at the top of her lungs. "THREE!"

Bris and Maybelle ran as fast as their four legs could carry them—with John horribly confused and holding on for dear life—and jumped over the chorale fence, over the stable hand, Adam's head. But here came the tricky part. If Harmony wasn't careful, both she, and Brisinger, could easily kill themselves.

Changing her relaxed posture so she looked more like a jockey than a princess, Harmony shut her eyes tightly, her hands so tight around the reigns that she could feel sweat starting to form on them. BAM!

She felt Brisinger's feet land on the ground, and she managed to open her eyes and stare straight ahead at the gates. The men were trying desperately to shut them, as people were shouting at her, at the gate men, at...basically everything. Harmony aloud herself a smirk, as she felt Bris's feet pound the ground faster, and faster, and even faster than she'd ever known that she'd ever known he could run.

The gates were about three quarters closed now; they weren't going to make it! No! They had to! Harmony's teeth clenched together, as she let out a hard, panting breath. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she heard the yelling all around her, and felt Bris push himself give a wild snort, his wild roots coming into place as he pushed a guard out of his way. But the gate's were almost all closed, they wouldn't make it with just Brisinger's wild self. It was time for Harmony to step in.

Standing up, rather recklessly, in her saddle, Harmony stared at the gates with determination in her eyes. Letting her left hand come off of the reigns, she felt it clench tightly against her side. With the speed Brisinger was charging at, one wrong move would have her knocked off and have her neck broken in a second.

"_Ajër_!" Harmony yelled out, punching out her fist in the air. A jolt of strong wind that sent the guards holding onto something sturdy so they didn't fall went through the air suddenly, thrusting the large (not to mention heavy) gates wide open. Harmony gave a laugh of joy as she sat back down in her saddle, and flew, with Brisinger under her, out of the castle grounds.

Looking behind her for just one second as Brisinger was speeding through the village, Harmony flicked her wrist backwards, and the gates slammed shut. The girl quickly looked beside her at John, who looked star struck, and was barely holding onto a super fast Maybelle. Well, at least he's alright, Harmony thought as an off note in her mind. Then looking forward, and barely dodging the villagers who were staring at shock and anger at their Princess for disrupting their daily chores, Harmony gave a laugh.

She'd escaped.

* * *

**Looks like Harmony has escaped! Just so you guys know, if you didn't catch it, I sped things up so that it's now been two weeks. That way I can have this story done soon, AND get to the sequel! Finally! I know, I know, I promised no more sequels...but I think you all would like to see Harmony and John's married life, right? And see if they have any kids...?**

**Speaking of which, it's time for....THE TITLE CONTEST! WOO-HOO! Start sending in your titles guys; and I think by now all of you know what prizes you get if you win! **

**I don't want to give too much away about the sequel, so, I'm sorry, but the summary is going to be a little vague. Try as best as you can to make up a good title! **

**Summary: It's never been easy for Harmony, but she's always made things work...until now. When her past, her future, and her family clash in a number of alarming ways, Harmony is forced to try her hardest at braving the storm. But, when a horrible realization dawns on her, everything she's ever worked and hoped for might be lost. Forever. **

**DUM DUM ! Sorry, you know I always have to let you guys think it's suspicious and stuff. :D So review, and don't forget about the title contest! **


	109. A Grassy Kiss

"Thanks Bris!" Harmony said, brightly and cheerfully as her horse stopped at the old tree at the end of the village. Jumping off of him, she put her face to his, both of their eyes alight with mischief. "I'll have Adam give you a gourmet dinner tonight for helping me escape. Carrots, sugar cubes, the whole nine yards."

_Actually, you could tell that man to let me into May's stall. I have some...unfinished business to attend to in there, if you know what I mean. _Bris had a smirk and untold mischief in his eyes at that, as Harmony rolled her eyes at that.

"Thank you Bris. I am now mentally scarred for life." Dramatically, Harmony shuddered, earning her a nudge from her horse. Giving a laugh, the girl turned to her side, leaning against Brisinger as she looked at John.

"How did you hold up?" Harmony asked with a grin, playfulness in her eyes as John turned towards her. He looked...amused, more than anything. A bit ruffled, and surprised, but amused.

"Besides the fact that I watched my girlfriend make a jump that even the most skilled horsemen can't do, _my_ horse was crazy, I almost broke my neck trying to hang on, _your _parents are going to kill you—not to mention what your father will do to me—when we get back, _and_ I saw you use your powers, I'm just fine." John's sarcastic voice reached Harmony's ears, but there wasn't a hard edge to it. It was more or less a playful edge, as though he was teasing her about this, using sarcasm.

"But otherwise good?" Harmony asked, innocently enough as she batted her eyelashes like a good little girl. John gave her a look that was between disbelief, and amusement. It seemed the amusement won out that battle though, because in seconds he was charging at her, and picking her up bridal style.

"You're a crazy little witch princess...that I can't seem to get enough of. Do you realize that?" John asked with a devilish grin, as Harmony laughed, throwing her head back in the process, before looking back up at John.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Harmony said, laughing fully. When she got back home, oh, Ariel and Eric were going to kill her...but for now, everything was just fine.

"Really?" John asked, arching an eyebrow in an incredulous way, before grinning that devilish smile that made Harmony's heart almost stop in her chest. "Well then, I guess I can only do one thing." John looked down at Harmony's blue eyes and the girl felt a sudden sense of fear rise in her.

"You wouldn't." Harmony said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. John just dipped his head gracefully, as though to say, he _would_, before tightening his hold on her and spinning around.

"Had enough?!" John asked in between laughs, as Harmony thrashed in his arms, she herself laughing as she tried to get out of this predicament. John spun her around faster than before, as the girl laughed and thrashed, knowing there was no other place in the world she would rather be than here, right now.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Harmony playfully shrieked, managing to smack John and have him release his hold on her. Both of them fell to the grass, panting from their laughter as they clutched their sides. Finally, after a few minutes, they regained their breath, and both let out a happy sigh. John rolled over so that he was leaning on top of Harmony, his brown eyes dancing with mischief.

"You know, we're all alone out here. Your father can't see us..." John let the thought trail off, as Harmony looked up at him with raised brows at his intentions. He was right...her father was nowhere in sight...she could so easily just do it, right here, right now with him...but...she couldn't. She was scared the same that that happened to Melody, would happen to her. The embarrassment of having been caught naked, and having to explain to the guards—not to mention her parents—why that was, and what had happened. The girl shuddered at the thought of it.

"Your right..." Harmony let her voice muse, looking into the deep set brown eyes of John. "So kiss me—and if you think of going any further than that, John, I swear I will make a tsunami come and wipe you off your smug little feet." Harmony was serious, John realized, with raised brows. He wouldn't actually do anything with her—not here anyway. After what had happened with Lance...well, it was scarring enough that John had learned the lesson before it was done.

"I'll take whatever the fair maiden offers." John finally said, looking down at Harmony with his signature smile. Damn. They should really copyright that thing, Harmony thought as an off note on her mind. Wrapping her arms around John's neck, she pulled his body closer to hers to deepen their kiss, letting her eyes close and take in the moment. Everything from the sea air, to the smell of woodsy grass and a big tree, and even an aroma or two from the village just made this moment so...incredible. How she had ever lived without these types of things the girl would never know.

As her lips were busy, and a part of her mind was completely freaking out at this kiss, Harmony's eyes opened for just a second, and she caught something in the corner of her eye. Something that looked...and was starting to smell like...thick black smoke. But...that was impossible! There couldn't be a fire anywhere! Still...it was starting to smell an awful lot like it...

Pushing a still panting John off of her lips, Harmony sat up in the grass, and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose so that she could see better. Her suspicions were immediately confirmed. Somewhere in the village, something was burning up like a bad hotdog.

Standing up quickly and brushing of the grass from her jeans and tee shirt Harmony put her foot in the stirrup and swung her other leg around her alert horse, who had been entertaining some very..._erotic_...thoughts.

"Um...Harmony?" John asked, still slightly out of breath as he, bewildered, stood up and mounted his own horse. "What are you doing?" The boy wondered, not understanding this whatsoever.

"Something's going on in the village. I wanna check it out." Harmony said bluntly, looking pointedly at the cloud of black smoke that would have made John take a step back, had he not been mounted on Maybelle. Whistling under his breath, and swearing a muttered oath, he looked at Harmony, who was...already riding Brisinger as fast as she could towards the village.

"Damn it." John muttered under his breath, as Harmony had gotten a head start in front of him. What if there was something about that fire that had to do with Harmony? Ever since his birthday in the Oak Woods....well, John was being cautious as ever now. Tapping Maybelle's side with his stirrup, he let his horse start to run, and try to catch up to Harmony.

* * *

**Maybe I can squeeze in another chapter tonight! :D We'll see! Remember that the title contest is still on, and all titles must be sumitted through reviews. :P Great titles so far guys, let's keep 'em comin! **

**So this chapter had alot of fluff in it. I originally was going to make it more serious, but then I was like, eh, some fluff is always nice to read and write about. So this is alot of fluff, and then a fire. Speaking of the fire...what do you think it means? Is it something bad? Hm...questions, questions...**

**REVIEW AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE TITLE CONTEST!**


	110. Symphony of the Devil

The anguished cries of people is what reached Harmony's ears first as she quickly dismounted her horse. Barely anyone even looked her way, too focused on the fire that was consuming a small, one roomed house. Standing behind the giant crowd that had formed to watch the fire, Harmony let her ears try and pick up strains of the conversations.

"...inside, I don't know how much longer their going to last with that smoke." Ah, so there must be people inside, Harmony gathered from the conversation her ears had picked up. Straining to hear another conversation, she tilted her head more to the left, letting her ears do all her work.

"...anyone goes in there, they'll die within seconds because of..." There was too much smoke...and no one could go in, Harmony gathered from the second conversation, before her eyes roamed to...what looked like a group of adults.

Anguished women were weeping and trying to pull away from their husbands, who had a tight grip on them and wouldn't let them go inside for anything. They kept calling out different names, sobbing as there was no sound in reply. The angry red flames licked at the tiny little house, consuming it slowly, like someone torturing something.

"...poor children. I never thought the school house would catch fire, did..." The realization that this was no ordinary house, but a school house hit Harmony like a ton of bricks when she could faintly hear another conversation. Her eyes widened, and her heart surged for those poor kids.

"Is it bad?" John asked quietly, slipping next to Harmony, but refraining from using her name. If anyone knew that their redheaded Princess was right here, right now...well, things wouldn't be so great.

"Schoolhouse. Kids are inside, but smoke and fire is too bad to let anyone normal in." Harmony murmured to John, staring at the red flames as her heart surged. John also stared at the schoolhouse, a grimace on his face at just the thought of those kids. But...it was Harmony's eyes that went even wider than they were as she realized what she had just said.

'Anyone normal'. The words echoed in her mind, drawing up memories of herself wishing that she was normal, and not a...a...a witch. A witch...wait a second. That was it! She was a witch! She wasn't normal; she could grab those kids and pull 'em outa of there before they died from the fumes! She could survive it because she wasn't a normal girl, she was...a witch!

Making sure her hair was in a tight braid, Harmony turned to John, standing up on her toes in the midst of the crowd's voices that nearly drowned out her own, and the cry's of the heartbroken parents. Planting a soft, surprising kiss on his lips, she went back down to her normal height, tapping her worn out converse against each other to make sure they were strong enough to survive a fire.

"I love you." Harmony whispered softly, so softly that John barely caught it. Confused and disoriented with Harmony's words, at this terrible moment, John looked to his side to try and find Harmony...but he just saw her starting to run in front of him. She was going to go into the fire!

John only had to take a few steps to get close enough to Harmony so that he could try and yank her back. His hand grasped at something, and he pulled it backwards with all his might. But, it seemed to do nothing because Harmony kept speeding on towards the burning building. John looked down in his hand, feeling something there from when he had tried to yank Harmony back. In his large hand was...was her #1 sister neckclace that she constantly wore because her brother had given it to her.

"Shit!" John muttered fiercely to himself, watching helplessly as Harmony ran into the thick of the smoke, and disappeared from his view all together. God, he could only hope she'd be alright.

Harmony blocked off her nose and mouth with her arm, and still, even then she was coughing horribly due to her asthma. Her eyes stung with tears from the black smoke that seemed to be everywhere the red fire wasn't. Squinting through her glasses, the girl tried to focus on one thing. Getting those kids out of here alive.

Thankfully the schoolhouse wasn't big, so it wasn't hard to spot the first few kids. They were huddled up with each other, screaming and crying as they had no idea how to get around the fire. Cursing under her breath, Harmony yanked them all up to their feet and pushed them out the window and out of the schoolhouse. She figured maybe a few of them would break a arm or two from the rough way she was pushing them, but, hey, a broken limb is worse than losing your life.

Turning back around, and coughing so incredibly much that her voice was hoarse; Harmony squinted through her glasses again, trying to find anymore kids in this god forsaken school house. But, wherever the girl seemed to turn, fire sprung up, blocking her way,

_"Qartë larg!"_ Harmony managed to shout out hoarsely, the smell of smoke reaching down into her throat at that. But the fire did separate a little, letting Harmony pass through and frantically look around for anymore kids.

"Yo! Is anyone in here?!" The girl yelled out as loud as she could, wiping off the sweat from her brow. Something groaned then, something loud...something bad. Looking up, Harmony's heart nearly stopped in fear as she saw it. The roof was starting to cave it. She had about twenty seconds to get the hell out of here before she died.

"Help me! Help—gah, huh, huh!" A small voice sounded far away from Harmony, coughing at the end of it from all the horrible smoke and fire all around. Harmony's heart pounded so loud that the girl could barely hear herself do a thing.

The girl ran in every which direction, shouting out spells as she went so that she could at least pass. The roof was almost in all the way now, just a few more seconds and she'd be trapped! With a pumping heart, Harmony blindly groped around for someone, until finally, she'd found the little bugger. She could only feel the kid's arm, but it was good enough as Harmony started to drag the kid out of there. And that's when the roof started to cave it.

It was an all of a sudden thing that just started to happen at once, debris falling here, and falling there, flaming pieces of debris! Harmony's chest expanded with helpless sobs that had no tears as her head turned wildy around and around, trying to keep the kid close to her all the while so that they didn't hurt themselves.

Her nose was so full of sweat that her glasses slipped off and fell to the floor, leaving Harmony practically blind with all the smoke, her inferior vision, and almost deaf from how the kid was crying and screaming. Her eyes squinted, trying to make out an exit, anywhere that didn't have debris, anywhere at—

"SHIT!" Harmony screamed out, as a flaming piece of debris hit her bare arm and burned her. An intense pain welled up in the girl at that, but she was determined not to let it phase her as she tried, desperately, one more spell. But, before she could get it out, she saw something that made her just...stop and freeze in the burning building. She saw Ryan.

He didn't look any different than when she'd last seen him. His hair messed up like usual, his body still in the awkward stage of puberty where he didn't have full muscles yet, but he was certainly tall. His brown eyes were the same as they'd always been to her; teasing and challenging. The red flames were in contrast to his pure white undershirt he'd been wearing to sleep, and the dark green pajama pants. But, what startled Harmony was that he was...he was _grinning _at her. As though this was some kind of joke. As if her life didn't hang in the balance here. As if...as if...he knew she wouldn't make it out of here alive. No! She would live! She had too! Staring at Ryan with tears running down her face, either from the smoke or from her own accord, the girl raised herself up and looked away from her brother and into the red flames.

"_Bëni një dalje, të shpejtë!" _Harmony cried out hoarsely, as the fire suddenly seemed calmer, but the girl was in turn, weaker than ever. Still, she managed to see blearily that window she'd been pushing kids out of before.

Grabbing the kid even tighter than before, Harmony coughed and batted away smoke and fire until finally she'd made it towards the window. It took her all of two seconds to lift the kid up and throw him out the window, and then throw herself out of it. And not a moment to spare, because just a second later, Harmony could hear the school house roof finally collapse into the floor, destroying everything in its path.

In her half delirious state of mind, Harmony wondered if John was alright with her running off so suddenly. She should really go and apologize. Yes, that's what she'd do. She'd go apologize to him...

Somehow or another managing to stand up, Harmony teetered like a toddler just learning to walk towards the crowd of people, who seemed to be saying something or doing something...but Harmony couldn't hear them. Or see them for that matter. The girl stumbled over something on the ground, starting to fall down as she coughed horribly, before someone quickly caught her and lifted her up. Half blind and deaf, Harmony was only able to make out that it was someone with brown hair, who kept saying something...something loud...something so far away...so far away...

Harmony finally fell completely, and utterly, unconscious.

* * *

**Wow. Three chapters, one night, one big bombshell with Harmony going unconcious and seeing Ryan. You know, I'm so nice, I'm actually doing all this at 2:07 am. Hm. Maybe I should get an award for like, best author of the year...**

**Review, yadda yadda yadda, remember the title contest...yadda yadda yadda...okay, and I am now, offically, going to sleep after I post this up. G'night! **

**P.S. Props to xJadeRainx for giving me the idea for this chapter name. In the title contest, she put one title as 'Symphony of the Devil' and I just thought that fit so well with this chapter, what, with all the fire, and Harmony being a witch and all...**


	111. A Mother and Father's Love

The King and Queen of Shireland weren't mad when the head of the guard informed them that their daughter had 'escaped'. They weren't mad when they had to cancel a very important meeting with dukes and such. They weren't mad when they found out that John had also 'escaped' with Harmony. They weren't mad when they sent out search parties for the missing Prince and Princess. They weren't mad when they were pacing the entrance hall floor, hoping for news about their daughter. And they weren't mad when they saw John enter the castle guards next to him, in case he tried to escape again. Oh no. They weren't mad. They were _furious_.

"Jonathan I am—Harmony?!" Eric cut off from his threat to John, when he saw that he was carrying his daughter. Eric's blue eyes widened in shock, his jaw hanging low as he couldn't seem to find the right words to say anything at the moment.

"My baby!" Ariel shouted out, as John gently handed off Harmony—somewhat unwillingly—to Eric. "What happened to her?" Ariel choked out in shock, staring at the unconscious body of her daughter.

Harmony was covered in soot head to toe, and smelled strongly of smoke. The girl gave a soft groan in her sleep, as she nestled her head into her father's chest, coughing horrible and then wheezing when she breathed. What looked like a bad burn was on her arm, covering almost the entire length of it. Her shirt was singed slightly on the sleeve from the fire, but, as an off note in her mind, Ariel saw that her daughter's converse were still in perfect, rundown shape. Of course they were.

"Th-there was a fire...at the schoolhouse...there were children...they were inside...and-and Harmony...she went in...and pushed them out...an-and the roof collapsed...but-but she made it out...and then-then she was like-like walking...and I caught her...and then..." John was absolutely, positively, without a doubt, terrified. Not because of Harmon's parents, oh no. It was because...he was scared for Harmony. What if the fumes had gotten to her, and she was going to die?!

"She went _into_ the burning schoolhouse?!" Eric choked out, as John gave a wide eyed nod. Eric released a heavy sigh, looking down at daughter with concern. "Oh, _Harmony_." He mumbled inaudibly to himself, shaking his head at the unconscious girl. Ariel suddenly noticed how bad the girl was wheezing, and reached into one of the pockets of her dress, before taking out Harmony's spare inhaler, and pressing it to the girl's lips. Ever since what had happened with Morgana...well, Ariel was a bit on the overprotective side as she kept Harmony's spare inhaler with her, just in case such a thing ever occurred again.

"Eric, let's get the doctor." It's funny how Ariel could keep so calm, while on the inside she just wanted to hold her baby and yell and cry at the girl for being so brainless as to go inside a burning schoolhouse. Then again, she'd saved the children in there...but at what cost? Her life?

Eric gave a short nod, letting out a heavy breathe as he looked at his soot filled daughter. Shaking his head at the girl, he tightened his grip on her ever so slightly, and turned around with Ariel to set Harmony down on her bed. But, before the couple could make it far, something stopped them.

"Wait!" John called, suddenly realizing what he was holding in his hand. Both Eric and Ariel spun around, their thoughts matching each other's. If Jonathan thought he was coming with them... "This is hers." John said in a quieter voice, showing the broken necklace. A soft gasp escaped Ariel at that, her eyes growing wide as Eric's grew narrower by the second. Touching her husband's shoulder lightly, Ariel looked at him with a pleading expression.

"You go ahead my love. I'll be there in a moment." It was obvious that Eric wanted to argue, but Ariel's eyes suddenly turned so big that he felt himself comply with her words unwillingly, turn back around, and start walking towards Harmony's room—the teenager still coughing in her sleep all the while.

"Here. Let me have it." Ariel's voice was smooth, quiet, melodic...not at all like her daughter's, John mused mentally. Harmony was rarely quiet, and her words seemed to have a way of dancing around, like a hyper child, instead of a seventeen year old girl. Erasing those thoughts from his mind though, John gently gave Ariel her daughter's necklace, watching as the mother rubbed her thumb over the #1 Little Sister pendant.

"I-I didn't mean for it to break. It's just that she-she started running...and I tried to stop her...but I-I only grabbed her necklace..." Somewhere in the back of his mind, John was terrified that Harmony would never forgive him for breaking her precious necklace, and that her mother would yell at him for breaking the thing most cherished by her daughter. But Ariel did no such thing. Instead, she wanly smiled at the boy, studying the necklace and pendant.

"Don't feel guilty sweetie. From all the stunts she's pulled...I'm just surprised it didn't break earlier." Ariel's clear voice said, in a still soft tone as she grimaced slightly at the broken necklace in her hand. How could one boy's prank lead to so much trouble?

Sighing softly, and closing her fist over the necklace, Ariel shook her head, as though to take away those thoughts. Turning on her heel, she was about halfway up the steps before she realized John was probably still standing there. Looking down, she saw that he was, his mind still a mess from what Harmony had done.

"You might want to take your time washing up honey." Ariel said in a conversational tone, starting to ascend the marble steps of her home again, before looking over her shoulder. "Dinner might be a little late."

"Mom? Dad?" Harmony asked in a small voice, half asleep as her eyes managed to open a quarter of the way. She could blurrily and blearily make out two forms that looked like people looming over her, almost protectively if she really thought about it.

"Shh honey." Ariel chastised softly, taking a cool cloth and spreading it out over Harmony's forehead. The poor girl gave a bad cough, which immediately made Ariel worry as she brushed her fingers against her daughter's cheek. The mother had tried her best to clean off Harmony, but most of the soot and not to mention smell would have to come off in a hot bath.

Both Eric and Ariel had come up to their daughter's room, if only for a few minutes, before they would go to their own and get some much needed rest. The doctor had said the fumes—not to mention her powers—and smoke left Harmony weak from lack of oxygen, that's why she had passed out (for some reason, the girl always got furious when Ariel used the term 'fainted' around her). She was on mandatory bed rest, Doctor's orders, at least for a day, because the girl's body was overstressed, and plus she had a small fever that had erupted across her body. But that's not the good part out of all of this. The good part?

John had felt so guilty and fearful about how Harmony had gone into the burning schoolhouse, that he had accidently mentioned what happened on his birthday, at the Oak Wood forest. So now, not only had Harmony nearly killed herself in twice (that Ariel knew of) in the past month, the girl also knew, somewhat, about the Harmonians. Just peachy.

"Get back to sleep Harm." Eric's gentle voice broke through Ariel's sarcastic thoughts, as the mother noticed her husband tucking Harmony just a bit tighter into the sheets. Harmony made a noise, and closed her eyes fully, as she let herself fall into dreamland once again.

"Oh Harmony. What am I going to do with you, my idiotically brave little girl?" Ariel asked with a sigh to herself, shaking her head at her daughter. On the one hand, she was proud that no children had been burned alive today in the schoolhouse thanks to her daughter. On the other hand, she was furious that Harmony would put herself in such a predicament. "So, so, reckless..." Ariel trailed off, brushing her fingers against Harmony's cheek again, before she turned to her husband with raised brows as she heard him chuckle.

"You say _she's_ reckless at seventeen?" Eric clarified, amused out of all of this. "You were even worse at her age." Eric said with a chuckle to himself again, as Ariel couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Yes, but at her age I was already married to _you_, wasn't I?" Ariel shot back, still with a faint, tired smile to her husband. "And plus, by seventeen I was the mother of _this_ one," playfully, but gently, Ariel knocked her knuckle against Harmony's head, "and her fish-out-of-water sister." Ariel's voice was playful, but still soft so she didn't wake Harmony.

"Little did we know back then that one day, as fate would have it, those two tiny girls would be teenagers." Eric said, giving a small sigh as he smiled at Harmony. He was still amazed that someone so tiny could become someone so big in just a few years.

"Well, fate has a way of coming back to people. I was a nightmare for my sisters and father to handle; and now, fate sent me _this_ one as punishment. She's reckless, careless, has complete disregard for any rules, and is a little schemer." Ariel said, shaking her head at her redheaded daughter, before turning back to her husband."But...I don't think I would have wanted it any other way." Ariel said, now finally giving a small smile, as she stroked Harmony's long red hair.

* * *

**So tired...review...don't forget title contest...review...**


	112. Kind of a Mother Daughter Chat

"M-mom?" Harmony asked, blearily opening her eyes as she could blurrily make out someone who was protectively leaning over her, humming a sweet tune. Though Harmony couldn't make out any distinct characteristics of her mother's face...she could tell it was her mother by the brightness, and length, of her long red hair.

"Harmony." Ariel breathed relief in her tone as she looked down at her daughter. "How do you feel darling?" As an answer to her question, Harmony gave a groan, shaking her pounding head and wincing at the sunlight streaming into her room. Ariel gave a small smile at that, shaking her head at the girl.

"I thought so." The mother mused, before suddenly procuring...something. It looked like a utensil, with some type of burgundy liquid on it...Harmony was having a hard time making it out without her glasses. "Open, and swallow." Ariel instructed, as Harmony gave another groan, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head. It was medicine! Giving a grimace, Harmony unwillingly opened her mouth, and grimaced even deeper when her mother deposited the nasty liquid on her tongue. The girl would have spit it out, however, the look her mother was giving her prevented her from doing so. So the girl had to settle for actually swallowing the liquid. Eck!

"This is torture." Harmony mumbled out, coughing horribly at the end of her sentence before wincing once or twice, and shaking it off. Ariel gave a snort, her worried expression turning into one of anger as she glared at her redheaded daughter with a sever frown.

"This is torture? Oh no Harmony, torture is what I'm going to inflict on you for being so stupid!" Ariel's angry calm voice had been the source of many of her daughter's nightmares, and the girl immediately winced at it, and kept her head down. She'd promised herself she wouldn't cause anymore problems...and problems always seemed to occur when she started to argue back.

"Do you realize what could have happened to you in that fire Harmony?! Do you?!" Ariel's voice rose, as the emotion behind it rose too. "You could have _died_! Harmony, you could have been lost to us...forever." Ariel's voice softened considerably on the 'forever', as hot tears started to fill her eyes. She'd lost her baby for eleven years, and come into close contact with losing the girl forever before in the past 3 years...but it was finally all just coming out. Ariel's worst fear. The very thing she had nightmares about. Her daughter being lost...and never coming back.

"Maybe that would have been a good thing." Harmony mumbled, covering up her cough with her hand quickly, as she weakly raised herself up on one elbow to blurrily stare at her mother. "I mean...the Kingdom doesn't like me anyway...and...well...*sigh*. Let's just say I'm not the good cookie-cutter-kid every parent dreams of. You and Dad could've had another kid, and the kingdom would be happy. I mean, who wouldn't want that? A new kid, a happy kingdom, everything would be fine." Harmony's voice was strained, mainly because she was trying not to let her hurt show. But Ariel, being a mother, could pick up on it. And she was rather speechless.

"Harmony..." Ariel trailed off for a moment, blinking and looking torn between crying and laughing. Fortunately, the latter came true first. Ariel started to laugh so hard that the tears in her eyes spilled forward and fell onto the sheets of her daughter's bed, leaving her daughter anxious and a bit worried, and Ariel just all around...well...laughing.

"Mom? What did I say?" Harmony asked, her brows knitted together in confusion. Ariel finally regained herself, somewhat, and looked at her daughter, wiping the tears from her eyes as a giggle or two escaped every now and then.

"Oh Neptune." Ariel said, on the verge of another laughing spree again before she sniffled, and wiped off the rest of the tears in her eyes. "Ooh, Neptune." Ariel repeated, shaking her head as her daughter was now more than anxious and worried. She was downright convinced her mother needed to be moved to the loony bin as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry honey." Ariel apologized, her hands gesturing to herself as she'd been laughing. "It's just that...oh, how do I explain this?" Ariel wondered, chuckling to herself still from the aftermath of her laughing spree. "It's like this Harmony." Ariel started, taking in a deep breath, and trying to eradicate all giggles that might come out. "Do you _really_ believe, I want to be raising a teenager—or worse, teenager_s_—when I'm in my fifties?!" Ariel slapped her forehead, giving a groan as she thought through this more. "Between you and your sister, I think I've had enough parental experience to last me a lifetime."

"But the Kingdom—" Harmony tried to cut in, and show her mother the truth, but Ariel brushed it aside.

"The Kingdom will have to learn that like it or not, I refuse to have any other children—which means, I refuse to have anymore heirs for this kingdom—so you, Harmony Althea Benson, are the sole heir of Shireland." Ariel said firmly, despite the grimace Harmony wore on her face at that.

"Though I don't even know if that's' a good thing anymore from all the reckless things you've done. Going into the Oak Wood forest, nearly getting yourself killed there, then jumping the chorale fence and almost breaking your neck, and then going into that fire..." Ariel started mumbling to herself, as Harmony's eyes widened in surprise that she knew about the Oak Wood Forest. John, of course.

"You know about the Oak Wood Forest?" Harmony asked meekly, shrinking under the glare of her mother.

"Of course I know. Harmony, do you know what those men would have done to you had they caught you? Do you?" Ariel asked, her features filled with worry and motherly anxiety at just the thought of it. Harmony made her head give a nod, before looking back up at her mother.

"But _who _were they?"

"Bad people who want to take you away from us." Ariel answered as simply as she could, though Harmony's eyes grew worried and frightened. Noticing the anxiety in her daughter's eyes, Ariel quickly reverted back into the role of a worried mother. "But they aren't, so don't be alarmed, alright?" The last thing Ariel needed was the girl crying, not now, not at a time like this.

"They shouldn't want to hurt me. I don't even want to be Queen." Harmony said in a small voice, though the fear behind it was unmistakable. She was afraid of what'd they do to her. She heard what they said. She knew what exactly they'd do. Of course, they'd never stand a chance against a witch...but still.

"Not this again Harmony. I don't want to talk about this so early in the morning." Ariel gave a sigh, shaking her red head at the thought of it. She knew this was eating her and her daughter up on the inside...but she couldn't help it.

"Okay, maybe not now, but _when_?" Harmony's voice was desperate for an answer, but Ariel only sighed again, shaking her head.

"Soon." Noticing the unbelieving look on her daughter's face, Ariel tried again. "We'll have a girl talk, just you and me, soon. I promise." Ariel knew that this promise was going to come back and haunt her soon enough, but she couldn't just leave the girl without any sense of knowing!

"Oh. Okay." Harmony's voice was a mix between disappointment and...a bit of anger at her mother for not wanting to talk about Harmony's future. "So...um...how are those kids? The ones from the fire? Are they okay?" It didn't matter much if Harmony had sacrificed her health, and those kids didn't even live. Ariel's grimace turned into an amused smile, as her shoulders dropped; the danger zone had been avoided.

"Their all fine. A few cuts and bruises, and a bit shaken up, but fine enough." Ariel couldn't help but have the teensiest of proud smiles at that. Her idiotic, reckless daughter...and ended up saving lives of children. Imagine that. "You're the one who's in the worst shape from rescuing them." Ariel tucked a strand of Harmony's red hair behind her ear, finally noticing how hard the girl was squinting as she couldn't see without her glasses. "Where are your glasses?"

"They broke in the fire." Harmony said with a slight grimace. Crap. Now not only did she have a horrible cough that kept re-surfacing, was her head pounding, did she probably have a fever, and a whole bunch of other things, but now, she had no glasses. Just peachy.

"Don't you have any spares?" Ariel wondered, her brows knitted in concern when she saw how hard Harmony had to squint to make out the tiniest of her mother's features.

"Those were my spares." Harmony said with a sheepish grimace, before shaking her head. She knew she was too weak to get those spare glasses back with her powers...so she'd just have to make do in school with just annoying old contacts. "But I'll be fine in school today; I'll just wear my contacts." The girl said in passing to her mother, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and standing up. She didn't even make it a step before she fell backwards on her bed, dizzy already.

"Sorry sweetie. The Doctor says you're on bed rest for at least today. No school for you." Upon hearing the annoyed groan coming from Harmony at that, Ariel gave a smile. At least things were starting to normalize...somewhat. "But, you are going to take a bath...and then coming straight back to bed. Straight. Back. To. Bed." Ariel emphasized, knowing Harmony to be a little deviant when it came down to it.

"You're not going to stay here?" Harmony asked, still a little dizzy from standing up so fast. Definitely a fever, the girl's mind said. Ariel gave a tired sigh and shook her head.

"Your father and I have some things to take care of, in the throne room. I'll have your meals sent up, alright? And I will be checking on you, to see if your really asleep—and please honey, don't stuff your pillows under your sheets to make it look like your asleep. I wasn't born_ yesterday_." Ariel said with a soft snort to herself, before leaning down to place a quick peck on her daughter's forehead.

"I love you, and be good." Ariel said, kissing the girl one more time, despite her protests. Walking out of her daughter's room, and shutting the door behind her, Ariel leaned up against it, pressing her fingers to her forehead as she gave a sigh. Only ten minutes with her daughter and she had a migraine. That was a new record alright.

"Oh Harmony." Ariel said, sighing again and shaking her head at the door, before flitting off to meet her husband.

* * *

**This is the heir chapter, xJadeRainx. Fooled you, didn't I? **

**Anyway, to rest of you, please, review. :D **


	113. Lots of Good Ideas

Harmony did take a long, hot bath—alarmingly the water turned a grayish color—and, she did fall back asleep, like her mother had said. She must have been asleep for awhile, before the sun started to get annoying and she woke back up.

Taking in a quick deep breath, Harmony swung her legs over the side of her bed and yawned, pressing her hand against her head for a moment as she felt it pound horribly. Oh well. A migraine never hurt anyone. Well, it did, but whatever.

With a simple, small, flick of her wrist, Harmony's blurry vision suddenly turned...clearer, thanks to her contacts. Of course, she was still weak, so just that small use of her powers made her suddenly very dizzy. But, shaking it off after a moment, the girl headed downstairs, to find her parents, and maybe—on a highly doubtful off chance—convince them to let her go to school today.

But...where could they be, Harmony wondered to herself. Wherever one was, the other would definitely be. Ariel had said that she and Eric had some things to take care of in the throne room...but then again, that could have ended by now. So they could be

in the study, in a meeting behind closed doors, in a sitting room, out on the beach, horseback riding…the possibilities were endless. Coughing a little as she sighed, Harmony brushed away all sleepiness from her eyes and continued the search of her parents.

Making sure no one caught her out of bed—well, namely, Carlotta caught her out of bed—the girl pressed her ear against the throne room's massive double doors. Nope. Not a peep. The coast must be clear, the girl mused, before pushing the door open...and her eyes growing wide when she realized her mistake.

The coast wasn't clear. There were dukes and what not in here, just about to start speaking again when they caught sight of a crimson Harmony. Though the girl was pretty shocked she didn't receive any glares—yet—from those men. Tearing her eyes away from them, the girl, terrified, looked up at her parents.

Eric and Ariel looked exasperated and regal at the same time that it was a funny kind of crossover. If Harmony wasn't so terrified, she'd have laughed. What was ironic was that neither of the girl's parents seem to notice her in the room, standing awkwardly and not knowing whether to leave or stay. Finally, after what seemed like a century, her parents looked up, and seemed a bit surprised to see their daughter coughing and standing in the doorway.

"Come here honey." Ariel's gentle voice said, the exasperation gone from it as she saw her daughter awkwardly standing in the doorway. Harmony's tiny yellow tank top, and pajama pants made both Ariel and Eric share a look for a moment, when they realized the girl hadn't put a glamour on her clothes.

Harmony walked forward, albeit, slowly before she was standing next to her mother's throne. With motherly concern, Ariel put the back of her hand on her daughter's face, frowning when she felt the warmth coming off from it.

"Eric, touch her face please. I think she's running a fever..." Ariel's worried voice rang out, as her husband reached over and pressed the back of his hand of his daughter's cheek for a moment, before taking it off.

"That's a fever alright." Eric said, talking more to his wife than anything before looking back at his daughter. "You should be resting in bed Harm, not up and about." Eric scolded his daughter, but in a way that was more or less brushed off by the girl.

"A-hem. Excuse me, your majesties, but we do have to finish discussing that schoolhouse; we can't waste precious time on...other things." I'm sorry I'm wasting your time, old man, Harmony mentally said, sarcastically, as she knew the 'other things' was directed at her, and the girl took it as an insult. And of course, so did her parents who fixed the Lord with two separate glares.

"You seem to forget that above all, we're _still_ parents, and we worry about our daughter's health." Ariel said coolly, running a loving hand across her daughter's face, before turning back to the Lord who looked extremely remorseful at even talking.

"Besides," Eric put in, "the schoolhouse is an easy thing. Another one wooden one will be built in the same place as the old one, and in a week's time the children will be having their lessons like they never stopped." Unintentionally, Eric's words made Harmony start thinking, and before the girl could stop it, she started talking.

"You shouldn't make it out of wood again, because wood is likely to burn—or rot—and in a few years you'll just have to make another one." Harmony stated, before immediately blushing, as she realized she'd just started talking in when she'd told herself she wouldn't say a word about politics.

"I...see." Eric's brows raised as he shared a look with his wife, a perplexed one at that. Harmony never wanted to involve herself with anything that had to do with the Kingdom. Maybe this could be the chance to finally have the girl start talking... "Then what do you propose we do?" Eric's voice was full of skepticism, as he expected his daughter to just roll her eyes and say 'Not my problem, you figure it out'. But again, Harmony's mouth took on a mind of it's own and the girl started to speak.

"Build it out of brick." Harmony said with a slight shrug. "Brick melts at 2200 degrees—usually much hotter than the average fire—and it has a tendency to last for a lot longer than wood." Harmony said, blushing even further as she realized she was still talking. Covering up her cough with her hand for a moment, the girl mentally scolded her mouth. Bad mouth, bad! You're not supposed to talk without permission from the brain!

"Uh...huh." Ariel said, a bit impressed by Harmony's knowledge, but more so taken back that the girl was actually speaking out. "Anything else we should know about?" Ariel asked, trying hard not to let the knowing smile play on her lips as she saw her daughter struggling with her inner-taking-demons so she wouldn't speak.

"Well...make sure the schoolhouse has lotsa windows, 'cause if it doesn't then it just feels like a giant, suffocating box. And you should probably have more than just one giant room, with all the kids, 'cause then it's _really _hard to concentrate. Kid's that are the same age should be like, grouped together, and have their own teacher so that they can actually learn, not just have one general teacher for everyone. It's easier to understand the material that way, and you don't feel so stupid if you have to ask a question because you know that everyone else is wondering about the same thing. Oh, and there should be like, a plan on how to get everyone out safely, just in case of another fire." Harmony said, before blushing so much that she was sure her face matched her hair.

Eric and Ariel gave each other amused looks, before trying to hide their knowing smiles. So, there was finally a thing that got Harmony interested in the Kingdom. And her ideas weren't un-reachable. The earls, and dukes, and lords, and what-not all exchanged glances—though, they weren't uneasy glances. They were...awed glances that their Princess had so many ideas, _good _ideas, on how to better the Kingdom.

"We'll keep that in mind." Ariel murmured, trying to still hide her knowing smile. "But, for now sweetheart, I want you to go back to bed. Your running a still running a fever." Ariel's gentle, motherly command rang out, as she tucked a strand of Harmony's red hair behind her ear. Harmony was too tired to argue that she wasn't tired, so the girl just yawned, coughed, and nodded her head as she felt her mother kiss her forehead lovingly, before sending the girl on her way back to bed.

And as Harmony climbed the stairs to her room—avoiding Carlotta at any cost because she didn't want to be scolded—and finally slipped into bed, she fell fast asleep, hoping that she wouldn't be woken up for awhile.

* * *

**REVIEW!**


	114. A Blanket and Pink Prom Dresses

"This blanket is starting to become—*cough*—_really_ annoying." Harmony sniffled then, hoping her mother hadn't heard her cough and sniffle as she dropped the blanket from her shoulders. Without even looking backwards at her daughter, Ariel started to speak.

"Either you keep it around you, or you go straight back to bed Harmony. And I _know_ you wouldn't want to go back to bed so soon." Ariel's voice rang out to her daughter, as she looked in her vanity mirror and tried to fasten the diamond earrings correctly. Getting ready for a ball was simple for Eric—all he had to do was put on his navel uniform, run his fingers through his hair, and slip into his boots. Simple as that. But for Ariel, unfortunately, it was much more difficult.

"Fine." Harmony conceded, wrapping the thick blanket around her shoulders again. Though the girl kept saying she felt well, her mother was taking no chances and was forcing her to wear the blanket around her. "Um...what time are you guys going to be back from the dance?" Harmony asked a half not-listening Ariel who was trying to find a better pair of heels than the one's she had on now.

"Mhm, about midnight or so honey." Suddenly the thought dawned on Ariel why Harmony must be asking this, and the mother turned around and looked suspiciously at the girl. "And why do you need to know?" Ariel's blue eyes narrowed, as Harmony gave a shrug, flopping backwards on the couch, or—as Ariel kept correcting her—_chaise_.

"Just wonderin'." Harmony said smoothly...too smooth for her mother. Ariel's eyes narrowed even more as she gazed at her daughter.

"Harmony Althea Benson if you step one foot out of your room tonight, I will ground you so fast that you won't have time to _think_ about what happened. Is that clear young lady?" Ariel's short temper was already showing through at just the thought of Harmony sneaking out—like she usually did—and leaving her mother frantic with worry because she couldn't find the girl.

"What if a dinosaur comes crashing through my room? _Then_ can I leave it, or do I have to stay and be eaten?" Harmony's voice snapped back at her mother, sarcastically. But Ariel knew her daughter. Harmony wouldn't sneak out tonight and risk the chance of being caught and grounded for the weekend; not with prom on Saturday.

"If a dinosaur ever came crashing through your room, I would think you'd start screaming and running away, not debating whether to leave or not." Ariel's voice teased, lightening the heavy mood that had suddenly fallen. Harmony looked up at her mother and actually managed to crack a smile, as she held her giggles back. Ariel's smile soon turned into a frustrated frown though as she couldn't find the other shoe that matched with the one already on her foot.

Ariel reached into her wardrobe, shuffling around a few of her dresses and wondering if, by chance, her shoe had gotten in here. It seemed unlikely, but, Ariel wasn't the neatest person in the world so it could have happened. Moving her hand around, she finally felt something that felt like a shoe...but it was connected to something. Probably a dress that had fallen off it's hanger, or something like that. Pulling out the shoe, and thereby, the dress, Ariel's eyes went wide and she gave a soft gasp, realizing what dress this was.

It was her pink ball gown...from when she was a girl of sixteen, and had shyly entered the dining room to see Eric.

"I haven't seen this in years." Ariel murmured, running her hand along the bodice of the simple, yet, elegant dress. Harmony moved off the couch with her head titled to the side to see what her mother was talking about...and gave a low whistle when she saw the dress. It was pretty, in its on way. For a ball gown, that is.

"It actually doesn't look that half bad." Harmony said, still peaking over her mother's shoulder. For a pink dress, it didn't seem _too_ bad. It wasn't so poofy, and there weren't a thousand bows and ribbons laced into it. Actually, it seemed kind of nice...

Ariel's brows raised in amusement, as she looked at her daughter, who was admiring the old dress. A smile twitched at the edge of her lips, but she refused to let it grow anymore than that.

"You wouldn't want to try it on, would you?" Ariel was most definitely amused by the way Harmony looked at the dress, and though she wouldn't say it out loud, her expression spoke louder than words.

"I don't know..." Harmony trailed off, looking at her mother's dress. It was pretty, in that simple sort of way that Harmony herself loved...but, god, this was her Mom's! Years ago! That made it ancient!

"It can't hurt just to try it honey." Ariel comforted, inclining her head with a smile towards the dressing screen in the corner of her dressing room. Harmony looked up at her mother then, a smug expression on her lips as she pulled the blanket around her tighter.

"I'm not allowed to take off the blanket." Harmony said, smirking with a certain kind of smugness about her. Ariel made an annoyed noise as she rolled her eyes at the girl, before twirling her out of the blanket and pushing her in the direction of the dressing screen, the pink dress somehow (though Harmony didn't know how) already in her hands.

For a minute or two, the only noises in Ariel's dressing room was her trying to brush through a stubborn knot in her red hair, and Harmony's muttered Spanish/Atlantican/Sailor curses under her breathe.

"Okay, don't laugh or anything." Harmony called out, before pushing her long hair out of her eyes and stepping out of the dressing screen. Ariel turned her head in the direction of her daughter musingly...before giving a gasp and the brush falling onto her vanity table.

"Oh _Harmony_." Ariel breathed, already fussing over the girl—like, pulling the neckline up higher on the dress—as mother's did. "You look _beautiful_." Ariel breathed again, clasping her hands in appreciation at her daughter. Harmony made a face, picking off invisible dirt on the dress.

"Idk—er, I mean, I don't know...." Harmony trailed off uneasily. "It just...it feels so weird. Not like me..." An idea suddenly popped into the teenager's head at that, as she blinked once, grinning like a Cheshire Cat himself. Muttering something quickly, while Ariel was giving the girl a warning gaze, the girl watched as her dress started to take on a whole new form.

Instead of reaching to her feet, it started to mend itself until it reached her thigh, the soft fabric then splitting on the sides as they created a curtain of sorts. Then the neckline fell down lower, and so did the puff sleeves, as they stayed the same after that, but kind of gave the girl a more modern glow. Finally, an intricate pattern started to mend itself into the bodice, until the sketch Harmony had in her mind was mirrored on the bodice in dark pink, black, and white string.

"It's so pretty..." Harmony whispered, staring at the full length mirror at looking at the dress in it. Come to think of it, she still hadn't bought a dress for prom... "Mom, can I wear this Saturday, to the prom?! _Please_? I'll make it go back to it's original state after that, I promise!" Harmony's voice as sincere, though the girl was starting to get lightheaded, a side effect from her spell. Ariel bit her lip, unsure of what to say. On one hand, it was a precious dress that the woman would feel hurt if it was broken...or if it stayed the way it was now. But on the other, who was she to deny Harmony's chance at happiness—at a ball sort of thing too!

"Well...alright." Ariel finally relented, looking into the blue orbs of her daughter and her heart nearly melting at how lovely the girl looked.

"But, Harmony, I'm warning you, if it stays like this, or, if it get's broken in any way I'll make sure that being grounded will be something you look _forward_ too, understand?" Ariel needed to make her daughter understand the importance of this dress. It's the very first thing Eric saw her in (very first _dress_ he saw her in, to be precise)...and she would forever have the image of his blue eyes widening, and the words 'You look...wonderful' coming from his lips embedded in her memory, all because of this dress.

And now, the second generation of a beautiful redheaded girl would wear it—well, a form of it anyway. Despite how the dress now looked, Ariel couldn't help but give a small smile as she knew Harmony would be the prettiest girl at the...the..._prom_.

* * *

**Link to picture of Harmony's prom dress is on my profile...yawn...**


	115. Life is a Highway

"_Life's like a road that you travel on  
When there's one day here and the next day gone  
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand  
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind." _

The vocals of an amazing voice mixed with clear music drifted into everyone's ears at the Catfish Cabana—The Next Generation. Everyone grinned, either dancing along, laughing, messing with friends, or even just quietly listening to the music.

"_There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door  
Where blues won't haunt you anymore  
Where brave are free and lovers soar  
Come ride with me to the distant shore." _

Teenagers laughed as they twirled around, absorbing the atmosphere and the music that seemed to flow endlessly with it. There was no popularity, no troubles, no fear, and no hesitation. Just...freedom.

"_We won't hesitate  
To break down that big gate  
There's not much time left today_."

Teenagers who had turned thirteen, and were now, for the first time coming to the club, opened their eyes wide and slowly, but surely, smiles went across their faces. This was the hottest spot in town—for kids their age, that is. This was the spot where it was just them, and no one could tell them not to do whatever they wanted. This was...this was their personal heaven.

"_Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long_."

John watched in amazement as Harmony transformed on the stage. No longer was she a bit stage frightened, or worried about her future. Now she was part of the music, letting herself be taken along with it in happiness. Of course John had seen this dramatic change in the girl he loved more than once when she performed in the Catfish Cabana—The Next Generation...but every time he saw her do it again, he managed to be surprised.

"_Through all these cities and all these towns  
It's in my blood and it's all around  
I love you now like I loved you then  
This is the road and these are the hands." _

Harmony's voice could be described as melodic—or angelic, if you preferred. There was just something about her voice that made you want to stop, and listen to it's rare quality.

"_From Mozambique to those Memphis nights  
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights."_

Though the merteens couldn't possibly understand the places that Harmony dreamed of going to...they still understood her meaning. Get out of here, go out into the world, see all and do all that must be done.

_"Knock me down get back up again  
You're in my blood  
I'm not a lonely kid."_

At this Harmony's blue eyes suddenly connected with John's, just for a moment, as though she was signifying to him that she wasn't lonely because of him. Though, in an instant her eyes were turned back on the crowd of teens that were rooting her on, and her grin was unmistakable.

"_There's no load I can't hold  
Road so rough this I know  
I'll be there when the light comes in  
Just tell 'em we're survivors.'_

There were cheers from the crowd of teenagers. They all loved the music. They all loved her. It was a feeling of pure ecstasy that Harmony felt, as her blue eyes grew even wider, and she leaned in to her microphone, letting her voice drop to a whisper.

_"There was a distance between adults and us  
But now, there's understanding  
'Cuz we look 'em in the eye."_

Suddenly, it was like someone turned on a light switch, and Harmony stopped whispering, the music grew louder, and the girl flipped her hair backwards, laughing. Pointing at the band, the girl's voice could barely be heard above the cry's and cheers of her teenage fans, but her band heard her. She was giving them their own solo, their time to shine. And they took it to the extreme level of awesome.

_"Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
I wanna drive it all night long!" _

Harmony finally finished up the song, as the cheers grew so loud that they were almost deafening. Knowing she'd never be able to talk over the cheers, Harmony turned back to her band, who were all sweating and grinning like idiots from the amazing crowd. Mouthing the words 'five minute break', Harmony slipped off the stage, and turned her head around and around so that she could find John.

A pair of hands covering her eyes suddenly stopped the girl's search, as she laughed, putting her own hands over them. letting her fingers feel the texture and shape of the hands, Harmony finally came to the conclusion on who it was.

"John, I'm all sweaty! Stop it!" Harmony laughed, forcing his hands off her face as she turned around to face him with a smile. Friday night couldn't have come soon enough to most, and for Harmony, the same applied. Though still a bit weak from the fire, she was more than capable of performing—just as long as she 'took it easy' and got back home 'by eleven thirty, and not a minute more'.

"You were amazing out there." John said with a smile, handing Harmony her water bottle which was full of Gatorade. Him and Harmony had easily patched things up in the morning, about her running off into that fire. John was more amused by it more than anything, though there was a underlining of worry that could put Ariel's to shame. He'd made Harmony swear she wouldn't do something so stupid again...at least, not without him that is. "But I have a question. Didn't you once tell me that you weren't good with crowds?" John asked playfully.

"I'm not good with _court_ crowds. I never said a word about Catfish Cabana—The Next Generation crowds." Harmony said, smiling before answering the first part of John's statement. "You're only saying I'm amazing because you want a kiss." Harmony teased, gulping down her Gatorade with a content sigh. Contrary to popular belief, dancing, singing, and trying not to fall on stage like she did was a lot of work, and since the girl couldn't exactly drink water under the sea (well, she could, but that would be weird), she drank Gatorade.

"Well, can you blame me?" John asked, his voice playful. School so far was...alright with him. He was actually quite enjoying it, since as a boy he'd been tutored with his brother. Because of that, he'd never had many friends growing up that were around his age, so High School was definitely fun. And on the plus side, he'd already learned everything they were teaching, so he was making straight A's. "I'm with the most beautiful, klutzy, and tendency-to-spaz-over-nothing teenager." John fixed a crooked grin for Harmony, as the girl gave a laugh, letting her head rest against John's bare chest for a moment. Without a shirt on, you could actually see all his muscles, that he claimed were only there because he was constantly trying to keep up with Harmony.

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment, or a dis...but it was nice either way." Harmony said serenely, wrapping her sky blue tail around John's dark purple one. She'd said those words before, of course. And she knew John remembered.

"As nice as this?" John asked, a devilish smile now replacing his crooked one, as he tilted Harmony's chin upwards, and leaned down to press a kiss against her red lips. Harmony's eyes closed in anticipation, happily going to accept his kiss right no—

"It's been five minutes! Break is done!" Emma crowed, dragging Harmony away from John before the girl could get a solid kiss from him. Harmony gave a groan, shooting a sorry look to John, before turning to her best friend.

"I was just about to get to first base!" Harmony whined, as Em dragged her along like a rag doll. Emma grinned foolishly, her teeth showing as she looked at her best friend...her sister.

"Sorry. I'm manager; it's my job to, you know manage you guys. Or something like that." Emma said with a laugh, shaking her blonde hair out before shoving Harmony onstage. Harmony sent her friend a mock scowl, before breaking out in a grin. She never really could be mad at Emma.

"What's ironic is that you always seem to be 'manager' right when I'm about to kiss John." Harmony pointed out, positioning the microphone a little bit and tapping to see if it was on or off. They all needed microphones, considering on weekends the club was so packed that barely anyone extra could fit in. Friday nights especially though.

"That_ is_ ironic." Emma said, her voice musing though Harmony rolled her eyes, knowing her friend was only doing it for theatrical affect. "Oh well. I ain't gonna waste my life trying to figure it out." Emma said, grinning from ear to ear as she didn't even notice her thick country accent.

"Because your life is so damn important." Harmony said with an eye roll, ignoring the shove that came her way because of that. Getting off the stage, the girl went to stand by her sister, her brow cocked up high.

"Hey! Emma does important stuff." Coral defended her best friend with a grin. "She...she...um...wait, no, scratch that. She doesn't do shit." The swear word rolled off of Coral's tongue easily, as though it was no more than a simple 'hello'. You could thank High School for that.

"Oh, like you two _princesses_ are one's to talk!" Emma shot back, grinning from ear to ear as Coral gave Harmony a helpless shrug, knowing they'd been beaten at their own game. "Now get out there and play some damn music, while I try to find someone to grind." Emma said, all seriousness in her voice as Coral laughed. Harmony put her hand up to her head in a solute, before seriously looking at her friend.

"Sir yes sir!" Harmony said, seriously, before looking at Emma and starting to laugh so hard that tears formed in her eyes. Emma rolled her brown eyes, before pushing Harmony in the direction of the stage again, and did the same with Coral.

"Lint licker!" Emma called after her sister, who was swimming away towards the stage. Harmony turned back a moment, and above the roar of a hundred or more voices, yelled back out a retort.

"Who're ya callin' a lint licker, you cootie queen!" Harmony called back out, before laughing and swimming back to the stage. For a moment, on stage, Harmony caught Emma, John, and Coral's eyes all at once, and each of them grinned at her.

And that's when the girl realized she wouldn't rather be anywhere else tonight.

* * *

**Song is 'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts...don't own anything...yawn again...so tired...**


	116. Broken Waltz Revisited

"How do I look?" Harmony laughed as she pulled on John's baseball cap over her head, making a funny face in the process as the hat, too big for her, fell over her eyes. John's brown eyes danced in merriment, giving a laugh as Harmony had to pull the hat up because she couldn't see.

"Cute." He answered with a grin, despite the playful slap on his arm that came from Harmony at that. Her long red braid swung behind her, almost like Rapunzel, as she stood up and brushed the sand off of her.

"We should get back." The girl said, taking charge and being the responsible one, because she knew John would never be. Ariel and Eric had allowed the two to go to the beach, but they had said that the teens could only be literally, two feet away from the palace steps that lead down to the water, so that they were technically still on castle grounds, and Harmony could be safe...which would be a great idea, if Harmony and John hadn't wandered down the beach and were far from castle view.

"Mom and Dad are probably wondering if we've gone into a cave and just did it by now." Harmony said seriously, flicking the cap upwards again as it fell over her eyes. Noticing that John still wasn't getting up, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, your highness." The girl said, dipping down into a mock curtsey. Before she could curtsey all the way though, with a fluid motion the Prince had knocked her off her feet by swinging one of his legs around, and she fell to the sand, just staring at him.

"My name is John. Not 'Prince' not 'Your highness', its John." John said, but there was a teasing edge to his words as he leaned over Harmony, his brown eyes happily dancing as they had that way of doing. Harmony gave an eye roll and smile at that.

"Stealing my line, John?" Harmony said with a laugh, wrapping her arms happily around her love's neck. John gave her a devilish smile, still leaning over Harmony with dancing eyes.

"I'm not stealing. I'm quoting." John said, his smile going even bigger as Harmony gave a snort. "I'm quoting a very...different Princess." John started. "You see, _this_ Princess is so nice that she helped out poor, unfortunate, geeky children when they were getting the crap beaten out of them by bullies. How? Well, she used her powers to dump water all over them, and then made the wind go so fast that they were so freezing, they went back home and left the poor, unfortunate, geeky child alone." John said, in story mode as Harmony rolled her eyes again, and shook her head—still on the sand—at her fiancée.

"I wasn't being nice. I felt sorry for you." Harmony clarified, as John's devilish smile only got wider.

"Oh? Than how come, we were such good friends? If I recall, you and me had quite a fun time together. You turned me into a merman, and I helped you find your spell book and prophecy about yourself. And then, when the moon was shining outside, we both leaned in, our lips puckered out—"

"And my parents caught us." Harmony finished sourly, raising one red brow warily as John grinned foolishly, his brown locks shaking back and forth as he shook his head at the girl he had loved since he was fourteen.

"Alright, then. The _second _time when the moon was shining outside—" John amended, but got cut off by Harmony, who felt a blush start to creep to her cheeks at just the thought of it.

"And_ I_ leaned in and kissed you, while you stood there looking shell shocked." Harmony finished a full blush on her cheeks. At fourteen years of age, she had been acting on instinct, kissing the cute boy who's friendship and face made her feel all tingly inside.

"And then you said, and I quote, 'Don't talk so much. It distracts me from looking at your face.'" John said, grinning even wider as Harmony's cheeks flushed as red as her hair.

"You still remember that?" Harmony asked softly, still looking up at John as she was still in a very...compromising position underneath him. Not that they were doing anything...but if her father caught her like this...

"'Course I do. I never forgot." John said, still grinning foolishly. Suddenly a thought popped up in Harmony's head, and she pushed John from looming over her, and propped her herself up on her elbows.

"You never sent a letter. In three years, you never once sent a letter, or even gave me notice that you were alive. You were my very first heartbreak, you know." Harmony finally said, quietly, as she leaned back and looked up at the clouds. As a child, she used to find shapes, animals, people; you name it in them, and laugh when she found a particularly funny one. And even now, just a few months shy of full adulthood...she could still see it.

"What was I supposed to say in a letter Harmony?" John asked, a hint of exasperation in his tone as he too leaned back and looked up at the clouds. "'I'm really a Prince from Westland—part of royalty, which you've made clear you hate—and I lied to you about being a normal village boy because I wanted you to like me.' Please. You would have never believed me." John snorted then, turning on his side and propping himself on his elbows to look at Harmony. "And besides, you're a Princess. You must have known there was a Jonathan in Westland. Why didn't _you_ send _me_ a letter?" John asked, a hint of venom in his tone at that. Harmony just gave a shrug, still looking up at the clouds.

"Jonathan is a very common name; there's at least four in the village at this moment, and that's just kids around our age." Harmony reminded quietly, her voice floating in the wind and immediately making her boyfriend feel guilty. "And I would have believed you, if you'd told me the truth. It would have hurt that you lied to me, but I wouldn't have minded because you were still my friend...my first _real_-almost-boyfriend. I was heartbroken when, after two years of waiting, I figured out we'd never talk again. Ask my parents; I cried for days." Harmony said in an even softer voice, digging her fingers into the warm sand and closing her eyes a moment. There was a fifty pound weight on her chest it seemed, and she couldn't get it off. Using her elbows, she sat up, giving a sigh and shake of her head.

"But you moved on." John stated quietly also. "Your mother sends Melody letters almost daily...Melody loved to read them aloud. They would always mention you dating someone..."

"And leaving that relationship with a broken heart because I was just a tool." Harmony said in an almost whisper of a voice now. "And then when I'd think I'd finally found the person who likes me for me—" Harmony said, but was cut off by John who finished the sentence for her.

"It turns out that they were only pretending to like you to show off to their friends or it's a bet." John said softly, finishing up the sentence for Harmony like he'd done before. The girl, starlted, looked up at him, blinking a moment or too in confusion...before a smile lit up on her features.

"You remember." The girl said softly, her fingers slowly intertwining themselves with John's as she looked back up at the sky. The clouds were moving, shifting themselves into different things, never staying in place for just one moment. But for Harmony....that was alright. The girl pulled John's too large cap over her face, and let her eyes rest a moment, just taking in the moment.

"I told you. I never forgot."


	117. That Ball in Nebraska Tonight

"Who knows where they could be?!" Eric's blue eyes burned with fury as his wife warily watched him pace back and forth on the marble in the entrance hall.

"Eric, really. Getting angry isn't going to solve anything." Ariel reminded, but her husband kept muttering under his breath to himself on and on about something. The Queen gave a sigh at that. Harmony and John were supposed to stay in view of the castle, on the beach. But instead, they had wandered off somewhere and Poseidon only knew where those two teens could be.

"Aunt Ariel, if Harmony get's killed, can I have her room?" Coral's sweet voice asked, playing the part of the good little girl as her green eyes shone at just the thought. She used Melody's old room now, but it would be awesome to have another room. Of course, there were hundreds of guest rooms...but Harmony's room would be better, because then she'd be annoying her cousin...from the grave.

"That's not funny young lady." Ariel sharply, not taking her eyes off her still pacing husband. Coral gave a heavy sigh at that, crossing her arms over her chest and muttering something under her breath.

"Mo-om! Da-ad! I'm ba-ac—oh. There you guys are." Harmony said in a indifferent voice, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she grinned at her parents. John, who was beside Harmony, was grinning lazily...that is, until he caught Eric's furious expression, to which he immediately sobered up. "What's up?"

"You know very well 'what's up' Harmony Benson!" Eric said sharply, as Harmony shrugged, her eyes flicking back and forth between her mother and father with raised brows. "You two were supposed to stay in view of the castle, and instead you wandered off to who knows where!" Eric was fuming right now, and Ariel, trying to be more reasonable, placed a gentle hand on his arm. Well, that was funny, Harmony mused. Usually Eric was the rational one, while Ariel blew up. Must be something about boys that ticks him off, Harmony noted to herself.

"We didn't do anything wrong, if that's what your implying Dad." Harmony said easily, though John playfully through an elbow in her direction as though he couldn't believe that. "We went to my world to grab some coffee. See?" Harmony, before holding up her cup of coffee with raised brows, before continuing, "And then we got bored so we came back here." Harmony said, gesturing to the palace walls.

"Didja get any for me?!" Coral asked, excited as she twisted around to her cousin. Harmony, without a moment's hesitation, let the cup in her right hand float over to her cousin, who greedily grabbed it and started to drink. Coral _loved_ coffee; maybe because there was nothing like it under the sea.

"I still don't know..." Eric grumbled, but he was wearing down considerably. How could he not trust his daughter? She had the coffee cup to prove that she'd been in a public place, where she couldn't do anything with John. And she had been telling the truth a lot lately...or at least he hoped that was the truth she'd been telling. Besides, after that little chat with John about breaking every bone in his body if the boy so much as touched his daughter, Eric was almost sure that the teens wouldn't have done anything inappropriate.

"Eric, look at what their wearing. I don't think they would have been here in Shireland wearing that; and they _do _have...er...coffee." Ariel said rationally, still shooting an unbelieving look to her daughter at that. The girl might be able to lie to her father, but her mother had a radar that was as sharp as a needle.

"I promise we didn't do anything wrong sir." John said smoothly, his brown eyes sincere because it was the truth. They hadn't done anything wrong, if you don't count kissing in a very...circumstantial position.

"Well...alright then." Eric managed to mutter out, sighing heavily as he was still not completely convinced, but the puppy dog pout his daughter was giving him was hard to argue against. Why, of all things, did he have to have a weakness in puppy dog pouts? With another sigh to his daughter, he shook his head at her and his niece. "I have to go back and finish up some paperwork. Be good Coral, and that applies double to you Harmony." Harmony shot her father a mischeivious look, which he returned with a stern expression, a warning for her not to pull any stunts. Eric pressed a kiss against his wife's lips a moment, before whispering something in her ear and walking off to the study with a very cheerful expression.

"Coral honey, why don't go up to your room and start on your homework? I bet you have a lot of it..." Ariel trailed off, as Coral grimaced, a sour look coming onto her face.

"Do I have to?" The teenager whined, but she was only met with an amused nod by her Aunt. Giving a heavy sigh, the teen stomped off to her room, muttering how unfair life was under her breathe.

"So um...we're gonna go up to the library, 'kay?" Harmony's voice floated out, an annoyed ring to it like any teenager would have, as she noticed that everyone but her, John, and Ariel were left. The teen was just about the escape...but Ariel wasn't having it.

"Oh no you don't." Ariel corrected, getting in front of Harmony's way so the teen couldn't escape. "_You_ have to get ready for that ball in Nebraska tonight." Ariel said, her lips pursed out and her hands on her hips. Harmony's eyes went wide, as she grimaced, and John actually looked surprised, before grinning down at Harmony. He had actually forgotten about prom tonight...but now, he remembered, so very clearly.

* * *

**You know what's ironic about this chapter, and the next one, and the next one? Tonight really IS my school's prom! Unfortunately, underclassmen aren't alowed to go which is completely unfair, but whatever. Anyway, read, review, etc, etc....**


	118. PreProm Effects

"_Guess now it's official." _John chuckled as he saw Harmony's sour expression at that.

"_Cant back out, can't back out." _Harmony groaned, as she noticed her mother's firm expression, the one that usually got her into trouble.

"_Dont Panic—" _John started, but he was interrupted by Harmony who was starting to be dragged along by her mother. Her heart raced at a million miles per hour, as she grimaced.

"_Panic!" _It was official, Harmony was in full panic mode by now, as she realized she had no choice in whether she wanted to go to the prom or not. Her mother would force her when it came down to it.

"_Now do we have to dress up for the prom?" _Harmony groaned, grimacing at just the thought of dressing up. The dress was pretty, and she'd look good in it...but, well...she didn't have the greatest track record with getting all dressed up. Ariel gave a snort and eyeroll as she dragged the unwilling teen along; the girl actually thought she'd let her wear a pair of ripped mini shorts and a tee shirt! _  
__  
"Dude, I don't think we have the choice." _John said a hint of a grimace on his face as he really thought about it. He didn't like dressing up anymore than Harmony did, and he'd been using prom to merely poke fun at Harmony...but he'd never actually remembered that he'd also have to get dressed up. Ariel gave another snort, as though she couldn't believe the teenagers thought she'd allow them to not get dressed up, before she pushed Harmony through the bathroom doors and gave a un-amused look to John as though she was saying 'if you don't get dressed up, I will come after you.'

"_Yes it's the night of all nights, got to look just right." _Ariel said, cheerily to herself as she suddenly pushed Harmony's head under the soapy water in the tub. The teenager suspected she was being kept under the water for longer than needed to be, as a punishment of sorts for disappearing from castle view. _  
__  
__"Have to impress that boy." _Carlotta said with a conspirtal wink with Ariel, who gave a laugh. Both women scrubbed mercilessly at Harmony's exposed skin, despite the loud complaints coming from the teen at that.

"_Do I wear classic or vintage or plaid?" _John muttered to himself, trying to decide on a bow tie. Coral rolled her eyes at her friend, lounging on one of the couches in the library. Using her finger, the girl pointed out a jet black, plain bow tie, giving John a clear 'Wow. Just wow,' look. John didn't seem to notice though, as he grabbed the bow tie, and tried to put it on, mentally thanking Harmony for teaching him how to do this because they were bored one day.

"_Where's the mirror?" _John fretted, like ahousewife, before finallly finding a small mirror in the library and examining himself in it. _"I think this tux is too baggy." _The boy said with a grimace, before looking closer in the mirror and grimacing at his bow tie. "_Too tight, it makes me look weird."_

_"Should I go movie star glamorous, sassy or sweet?" _Harmony fretted, trying to figure out what to makeup and hair. Her long red hair was flat and unresponsive, her face looked hectic and scary, and to top it all off, she had no makeup on _still_ and it was only, like, 45 minutes until prom! Upon noticing the frenzied panic teen was in, as she tried to brush her hair and apply her eyeliner at the same time, Ariel and Carlotta shared amused glances, before helping the girl out.

"_It's the night of our nightmares." _Both Harmony and John were feeling the effects of pre-prom. John was panicked that he wouldn't look good enough for Harmony, as he tried to straighten his tux, mess with his hair, etc. Harmony was the same way, except she, at least had some help. Carlotta was doing something with her mass of red hair, and Ariel was applying a light—_light_ being the keyword—layer of makeup on the girl's features.

"_Is it too late to back out of it?" _Harmony asked, biting her nails in worry as she at the finished result of herself in the mirror. Ariel squeezed the girl's shoulders once in comfort, her way of saying that everything would be alright. If Harmony believed her, she gave no evidence of this as she grimaced.

"_Don't know where that damn corsage is." _John muttered under his breath, as the countdown till prom slowly started winding down. There was about twenty minutes 'till, and now, he was freaking out as he couldn't find that corsage he'd gotten Harmony. Coral jerked her thumb in the direction of the small coffee table, that held John's corsage for Harmony. But even after finding the corsage, it didn't make John less anxious.

"_Where's my purse? Lip gloss? Now I'm really freaking out!" _Harmony was fretting too as her mother practically dragged her down the hallways. What if she didn't have lip gloss, and her lips became all normal, and she looked bad, and then John didn't like her anymore?! The girl gulped at just the thought of it.

"_Don't know why, her father's staring me down..."_ Uneasily, John glanced in the direction of Eric, who was staring the boy down inside the ballroom. Eric was rigid with a third degree look towards John, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes narrowed at the boy. If he so much as _touched_ Harmony...

Harmony gulped down a glob of her spit, her blue eyes shifting back and forth as she stood behind the double doors that would lead to the staircase, that would lead to the ballroom. She was terrified, the girl realized. What if...what if John didn't like her makeup, or her hair? Suddenly, the messy bun that Carlotta had put the girl's hair into (and had jabbed more than a million pins into Harmony's scalp to keep the bun from slipping) seemed silly, and the lightness of the makeup she had on made her feel childish.

Ariel raised her brows at the reaction Harmony was giving. An amused smile lifted up in the corner of her naturally red lips, as she realized the same reaction Harmony was giving, was the one she'd given long ago, as a sixteen year old who felt too shy to enter the dining room. Perhaps it was something about that dress that made teenage girls shy...or maybe it was just that Harmony was finally acting her age. Whatever the case, Ariel wasn't about to let the girl stand there for an hour. Pushing open the doors to the ballroom, Ariel grabbed her daughter's arm and gave a short laugh as Harmony gave a deer in the headlights look to her mother.

"Come on now honey; don't be shy." Ariel chastised gently, giving Harmony a helpful push forward. The girl's cheeks went crimson as she realized she was no longer in hiding, and slowly, with no chance of escaping to anywhere, the girl lightly gripped the railing of the grand staircase, and looked down, finally catching John's eye.

* * *

**Okay, so the song used here is 'A Night to Remember' from High School Musical three. I thought it would fit into this chapter, since it's like, describing pre-prom getting ready, and freaking out and stuff. I changed some of the lyrics, but the meaning is still there. :D I own nothing. **

**I wonder what John's reaction towards Harmony will be? Hm...review and find out! **


	119. You Look Wonderful

"Hot damn." John breathed in awe, staring up at Harmony. If this had been any other ordinary day, Eric would be dragging the boy's bloody body out so that he could bury the corpse in a shallow grave. But this wasn't but this wasn't any other ordinary day. This was the day of prom.

Harmony, who was still on the top step, felt her heart pound in her chest. From this high up, she really couldn't make out John's features…but she could see that he was wearing a tux, and looking gorgeous in it. Suddenly, the girl was feeling…not so herself. She felt like…like a Princess. It was a rather nauseating feeling for the girl. Her eyes flicked towards the railing, which she knew she should use to help her descend. And yet...looking down at John again, the girl's resolve was suddenly stronger, as she knew what she wanted to do. She jumped onto the railing, and grinned wickedly down at her parents, before sliding down.

Harmony finally reached the end of the railing, but she was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed it one bit. The speed at which the girl had been going at immediately made her balance off when she hit solid ground, and she almost fell…had it not been for John's quick hand that caught hers, and made the girl regain her balance. But the boy didn't let go of her hand, even when Harmony was stable on the ground…not that she was complaining.

Quite easily, Eric whisked Harmony away from John, shooting a narrowed eyed look at the boy in the process. John's hand dropped from Harmony's arm, but his gaze didn't stop as he stared at her, openmouthed in wonder.

"Harmony, you look…wonderful." Eric said, slightly awed as he smiled at his daughter. Ariel had only said for him not to blow a fuse when she saw how short Harmony's dress would be, but other than that, she hadn't spilled a word onto what would the girl wear. But now…he understood.

He looked over Harmony's head, at his redheaded wife, who gave him a shy smile that he hadn't seen on her since she was a girl of sixteen, in that same pink dress that—despite the alterations done to it—he would recognize anywhere. "Just like your mother." Eric said, though his gaze was away fully from Harmony now, as he was focused solely on his wife. "You look…wonderful." Eric said softly now, and it was obvious that the message was to his wife, not to his daughter.

Something in Harmony's eyes suddenly…snapped. John and Coral immediately noticed it, and both of them had a brief worried look in their eyes, before they shook it off. They had just mis-seen something. Little did they know that a plan was already in motion in Harmony's mind.

"H-Harmony…I-I mean…you look…amazing." John finally got the words out of his mouth, staring open mouthed at Harmony still. Harmony turned towards him; giving the boy she loved a small, shy smile.

"It's just the makeup…and dress and stuff." Harmony said, noticing how shy she was getting and wondering when such a thing had happened. A light blush appeared on her cheeks, as she bit her lip, looking up at him with a school girl's-first-crush-talking-to-her kind of face.

"No way." John said quickly, and indignant that the girl would even say such a thing. It wasn't the dress that made Harmony look beautiful. Or the light coating of makeup. Or how her hair had been tamed for this event. Or even the fact that she was wearing her contacts. There was just…that kind of inner beauty that the girl was too hurt from the past to show…was showing. "It's you."

"Thanks." Harmony dipped her head down in grateful acknowledgement, as Coral mumbled under her breath 'dingleberries'. But Harmony wasn't paying her cousin any attention right now. "You look pretty nice yourself." Harmony said, gesturing towards the tuxedo John was wearing. The boy hadn't asked where Harmony had gotten the suit—or all of his school clothes, for that matter—and Harmony didn't tell. But maybe that was for a reason…

"I look nice. But you look way beautiful." John said, still in awe. Harmony's dress was short, but that was to be expected. Still, it didn't make him feel…so damn lucky, to have met someone so beautiful…and so much like him too, for that matter.

Eric and Ariel, who had long since broken off from their silent memory, looked at the young couple. Ariel had a soft, knowing smile on her face, as she rested her head against her husband's shoulder, knowing exactly how her daughter felt. And Eric…well, even Eric had to admit that he was happy Harmony had chosen someone who wasn't taking for granted her rare beauty. The king wrapped his arm around his wife's thin figure, pulling her closer to him as he knew that his 'little girl' Harmony existed no longer. It was a bittersweet thought.

"I still don't see why I can't go to the prom. I'll be seventeen soon enough." Coral grumbled unhappily, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout. Ariel lifted her head off of her husband's shoulder so that she could look at the girl and give her an amused smile. Coral had begged her parents—with Harmony's help—to let her stay over her Aunt Ariel and Eric's Saturday night, for 'educational purposes' as Harmony had put it. 'Educational' meaning, that if Harmony wasn't back by curfew, Coral would cover for her, thereby learning something. See, educational.

"You'll be seventeen in six months sweetie. I wouldn't exactly call that 'soon'." Ariel corrected, in a gentle, motherly fashion. "Besides, you'll have your turn." Ariel reminded gently, too happy about her daughter and John to really reprimand her niece. Besides, she wouldn't want to ruin their moment…too bad that this is exactly what happened, almost a second later.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Emma's voice chirped, coming out of nowhere and grabbing Harmony's arm. "There are boys to meet, a prom to go to, and a boyfriend to grind, so let's _go_." Emma said, pulling on her sister's arm to get the girl moving. Emma herself was looking nice in a simple, strapless, yet elegant purple silk dress. There was a slit went up to the girl's thigh, exposing, when she moved, her bare leg. Her usually curly hair that was pulled back had been left down, and flat ironed. Hell, Emma looked _hot_.

"Emma." Ariel had to blink a few times to realize that it was Harmony's best friend standing in front of her, and not the usual cocky teen that the woman saw on an almost daily basis. "You…you…you look…" Honest to god, as much as Ariel racked her brain, she couldn't find a single compliment for the girl. She was just too used to hating the girl to offer up a compliment. "Your parents must be proud." There. That was a safe answer.

Emma's face seemed to age ten years at the mention of her parents. The beautiful girl that everyone had seen just a moment before…was gone. She was replaced by a weary adult, who had gone through too much in too short a time. Harmony silently stood by her friend, connecting her hand with the girl's in a sign of friendship, and squeezing it gently before letting go. Coral and John looked at their feet, grimacing slightly as they sighed.

"Yeah. Don't I wish." The light that was in the girl's eyes suddenly vanished, and her eyes looked like at any moment they'd water with tears. But, by digging her nails into her palm—a trait the girl had learned from Harmony—Emma was able to hold back her pain. At least, for now.

"What do you mean?" Eric asked, clearly confused. Was it wrong that he felt almost…like he cared about this girl—in the fatherly way—after seeing her grow up with his own daughter? Was it wrong that he actually wondered what could cause her life to be so bad that she would look as though she was 28, and not 18?

"Never mind." Emma said with a sigh, ending the subject. Ice Queen and King had been sheltered all their lives from the harsh reality of life beyond castle walls…they wouldn't understand.

"I still want to go." Coral grumbled under her breath again, as the tension in the room eased. Harmony and John were still in la la land with each other, and Emma's face transformed back into its eighteen year old self…but still. There was a certain lack of something from the girl that made Eric and Ariel wonder…

"All in good time sweetheart. All in good time." Ariel said gently, giving her niece a peck on the forehead with a smile. Still, troubling thoughts aroused in her mind about Emma. She and the girl had always had a sort of vendetta against each other…but Ariel recognized the signs of an almost-depression from the girl. After all, Harmony had been through that stage so many times that by now, the mother was a whiz at recognizing it. But, what was really troubling to the Queen was just one thought. What in Emma's life was so bad that she was in a state of almost-depression?

"The both of you better be here by ten 'o clock, and not a second later." Eric said suddenly, glaring at John as the boy had his arm around his daughter's waist and was pulling the girl close to him.

"Eric, remember what we agreed on." Ariel's gentle reminding voice said, placing her hand on her husband's arm. Eric gave a defeated sigh, before finally managing to grumble out a curfew for his daughter and her fiancé.

"Two 'o clock." Eric grumbled out, completely unhappy about the situation, but he had nothing to do with it. Ariel and him had discussed it, and after a very effective pout, the Queen got her way and pushed back the teenager's curfew's. After all, she herself had been that young too at one point, so she knew how they felt.

"Okay." Both Harmony and John chimed, secretly cheering inside themselves for their later curfew. Finally, some freedom. Though, Eric was looking strangely…homicidal when he glared at John.

"Bye Dad. Bye Mom. Bye Cor." Harmony said quickly, as Emma and Coral rolled their eyes. Emma was just in a hurry to go. Coral was still smarting from the fact she wasn't allowed to go. "Later!" Harmony said with a beaming smile, wrapping her hand in John's before muttering a few words under her breath, as both teenagers disappeared. Emma stayed for a moment, giving Coral a 'that-sucks' look, before the girl tugged on her bracelet and she too vanished…

To the prom.


	120. Prom Part: 1

"_My telephone!  
M-m-my telephone!  
'Cause I'm out in the club,  
And I'm sippin' that bubb,  
And you're not gonna reach my telephone…"_

Kathy swung her lips left and right, laughing loudly as she then threw her hands in the air. The music pounded through the gym walls, making the floor vibrate with a beat that was un-resistible not to dance too. Lizzie, Matt, and John beside her all laughed with joy, completely at ease in the gym that they had painstakingly played sports in during P.E., climbed the dreaded rope, and even crashed into a wall once or twice. But now, their sweat was from dancing, instead of running. Now they were laughing, instead of groaning in pain. Now…now they were all happy. Because they were all together.

"This is really great." John's voice said in Harmony's ear, as the girl smiled, and threw her arms around him, thereby pulling him close so that she could talk back into his ear. The music pumped so loud that she could hardly hear her voice, so she had to shout it in John's ear.

"Thanks for making me come." Harmony said with a laugh, as John spun her around in a waltz like move, but in a teasing fashion as the strobe lights caught his devilish smile that almost made the girl's heart drop like a rock.

"Dude, the after parties are gonna be so _sweet_." Leave it to Matt to already be dreaming about the after party when he was still in prom. Harmony was to happy to thump the boy over the head and tell him to shut up before she made him.

"Yeah well, ya ain't gonna get this at an after party." Lizzie yelled above the music to be heard, laughing as she pressed her body against Matt's for a moment, letting the music vibrate through her. It was a amazing that even after four years, the teenager's relationship had lasted. They would be the cliché high-school-sweethearts, and neither of them seemed to mind it too much.

Suddenly, the music dimmed, and the strobe lights with them. There was a tapping on the microphone on the makeshift stage that had been made. Someone cleared their throat, obviously waiting for the seniors to settle down long enough for the announcement to be made. After a few moments, the upper classmen finally quieted, and the class president started to speak.

"Okay everyone; it's time to announce the homecoming Queen and King." Cheers suddenly erupted from everywhere in the gym at that, and John expertly wrapped an arm around Harmony, looking down at her as they both share a conspirital look with one another.

"Alright, alright, alright!" The class president laughed, holding her hand out so they she could stop the noise. The envelope was already in her hands, so all she had to do now was open it. "Your homecoming King and are Queen …" Everyone took in a deep breath, hoping that it would be them. Even Kathy found herself hoping, slightly, that her class would have voted her as homecoming Queen. It would be a great way to end out her year…not to mention the irony…

"Jonathan Manelin, and…Mariah Hennessey!" Cheers erupted all over the gym, as people gasped, suddenly talking miles a minute at the new homecoming King and Queen. John stood next to Kathy, blinking in shock, as did Kathy, her jaw dropping down to the floor. Her enemy…with her boyfriend…were homecoming King and Queen?!

"Go John! Go!" Lizzie was suddenly pushing John in the direction of the stage, while Matt was laughing uncontrollably, finding this to be hilarious. Somehow or another, John's feet started to move, as he subconsciously intertwined his hand with Harmony's, and he moved through the crowd of teens. Everyone parted out of their way, everyone saying their congrats to a still heavily shocked John.

Kathy stood by the side of the stage, watching her boyfriend go up the steps, and blink in a still daze as he stood next to a blowing kisses Mariah. The girl wrapped her arm around John's, smiling prettily and batting her eyelashes as the photograph being taken. The crowns were placed on both John and Mariah's heads—plastic crowns, mind you—as the teenagers cheered wildly for both Mariah and John.

"Guys, make room for the 'royal' dance." The class president said, as a still smiling Mariah batted her eyelashes and lead John down the steps. Everyone cleared room on the dance floor for the royal couple, murmuring how cute they went together and how they wish they would have won. For one moment, she caught Kathy's eye, and the smuggest look came across her face. All too fast, Mariah planted her lips on John's, making sure that Kathy was watching all the while.

The girl felt like she was going to be sick. There was no way this was happening. She could understand being crowned King and Queen…but kissing? No. It was just too much. She knew that letting herself love would be a mistake. Why did she always have to open her damn heart? Couldn't she see that it would always be stomped on, no matter what anyone said? Too hurt for words, the girl let her bottom lip tremble, before she started to run.

"What are you _doing_?!" John asked, bewildered as he pushed Mariah off of him. The girl gave an innocent look, as though she had no clue what he meant, as the crowd of teenagers gathered round, paying attention to the drama that was unfolding.

"Kissing you. I mean, we're together now. It's normal." Mariah said with an eye roll to the boy. He was some serious eye candy, she'd give him that. She'd been flirting with him since day one, and yet, he never seemed to notice. But he was always around that redhead, who totally didn't deserve him. "Come on Jonathan, it's _only _first grade stuff." Seeing the still confused look on John's face, Mariah tried again, impatiently sighing. "The hottest girl in school pairs up with the hottest guy in school at the prom and they fall in love. Duh." Mariah said, rolling her eyes at her new boyfriend's attitude. She'd broken up with Lucas once she'd been named homecoming Queen, assured that John and her would immediately pair up and love each other forever. It was only common knowledge that John do the same with that redhead _Kathy_.

Mariah pressed herself up against John again, taking advantage of the scene she had created all around her, as she was about to kiss the boy again…when she was suddenly pushed away. John looked at her with a firm expression etched onto his features.

"Your right. The hottest girl _should _pair up with the hottest guy." John said, as Mariah gave a squeal of delight. He was getting it! Finally! For someone so hot, he didn't have much going on in his head. But still, it was face that mattered, not brains. "So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pair up with my girlfriend." John turned to his side, ignoring the indignant gasp that came from Mariah at that, looking for his love. But he was shocked when he found that she wasn't by the side of the stage. "Kathy? Kathyyy? Kathy?" John called out, using the girl's name as it was in this world, but was met with no reply. He looked to his left and right wildy, but he couldn't find the girl he loved. Anywhere.

"Harmony?! Harmony where are you?!" John called out, frantic now that he couldn't find his fiancé, so he slipped back into calling the girl by her true name. "Harmony?!" John tried again, but was met with no reply. His heart pumped in fear. Where was she?!

* * *

**Where is Harmony?! Why would Mariah kiss John?! What is going to happen?! Ah. Find out if you review (or if you just go to the next chapter!)**


	121. Prom Part: 2

The strangest thing happened then. At first, it was like a soft chant, one person repeating the name over and over, but then it started to grow louder, and louder, and louder, as John ran through the crowd of teenagers, who were all chanting loudly now, one name. Harmony.

The spotlights kicked in, searching all over the crowd for the redhead, until finally, she was caught, running the opposite way from John. Wincing in the light, the girl turned around, bewildered, as she suddenly realized her name was being called out. From across the sea of teenagers, she could see the other spotlight that was on John, and she could see him staring at her, open mouthed, as he slowly made his way to her.

"J-John?" Harmony whispered, incredulous that he was coming after her. And what was with this cheering all of a sudden? Why was everyone staring at her and John? Why was her name being chanted, over and over? Why was everyone chanting 'Harmony' instead of 'Kathy' as they knew the girl? What was…how was this happening?

"Harmony." John breathed in relief, his shoulder's slumping in relief as he finally got to where his fiancé was. The two spotlights melted into one now, as both the teenagers were slowly inching towards one another, unable to stop the pull in their bodies that was making them do this. "Ma petite sorcière." John said softly, reaching out a hand to cup Harmony's not-so-delicate face. "I thought…I thought I lost you." John said softly, as Harmony reached up her hand so that it was pressing against John's, which was still pressing against her face. Suddenly, the white hot spotlight, or the fact that everyone was staring at them didn't matter, as Harmony's shoulders dropped.

"You did?" The girl asked softly, wiping off one of the excess tears that had fallen down her face. He had come after her. Maybe she had been too quick to judge. After all, Mariah had a history of trying to make Kathy's life a living hell…maybe she had just kissed John, and he had pushed her off and said that he loved Kathy instead. It was a long shot that such a thing happened though, the girl's mind reminded. This wasn't a movie. She wasn't a fairy tale princess. Real life wasn't like it was in the movies.

"Of course. I…I love you Harmony." John said, the first time he had uttered the words out loud, in this world. There were titters among the crowd of teenagers, undeniably all of them shocked at this. Like was one thing, but love? Love was a completely different category in itself. No one 'loved' for real, at least, not yet. What they all experienced was puppy love; it's how they were raised. But, what shocked them all is Harmony's reaction to those three words.

"I-I love you too John." Harmony whispered softly, a smile reaching up the corners of her lips. He loved her. She'd been a fool, questioning him. Of course he loved her. Hadn't he said so, so many times before? She was just so hurt from pervious relationships…and life hardships…that her doubts were always there.

John's hand dropped from Harmony's face, and the girl gave him a sort nod as a smile reached on his lips too. Harmony/Kathy was still here. Everything was alright. It was hard for John not to say that he hadn't been afraid when he couldn't find her. He had thought she had just…left without a goodbye. Of course, she had the right too…but it still hurt that she would have thought something had gone on between him and Mariah, for one stupid little kiss. But then again, all the evidence was there. John couldn't really blame the girl he loved completely for feeling hurt and just questioning his love. Hell, he would have done it too.

Slowly, someone started to chant again, softly, before it started to pick up, faster, and louder, until the chant was all around Harmony and John, those three words echoing in their ears as their eyes broke off from one another in slight confusion.

"Kiss. The. Girl! Kiss. The. Girl! Kiss. The. Girl…!" Harmony and John blinked, looking all around them at the chanting crowd of teenagers. John turned back to Harmony, who was blushing slightly, and gave her that signature devilish smile of his. Slowly, he leaned down, and Harmony leaned up…and as their lips connected, the cheers went almost deafening.

Slowly then, the music started to play. The teenagers quickly started to pair off, shooting glances at Harmony and John all the while. Finally, Harmony and John pulled apart from their kiss, both grinning like idiots and panting from their kiss. John placed his plastic crown on Harmony's head, watching as it comically slipped a bit down because it was too big for her head, and grinned at her.

"Would you like to dance, my Princess?" John asked, bowing deeply to Harmony, who gave a laugh, and curtseyed back at him.

"It would be my pleasure, my King." Harmony teased, using John's homecoming title to address him. Slowly, she pressed herself against him, as they both smiled and swayed to the music, not caring if the spotlight was still on them, or if people kept looking at them.

"Huh!" Harmony gasped suddenly, pressing her hand to her mouth, as John looked at her worriedly. "I-I remember this song. I used to listen to this when-when I was a kid…it's been so long…so many old memories…" The girl said softly, not caring at the moment if she was Harmony or Kathy. As long as she was with John, it was alright.

"Then it's time for a brand new one." John said softly, twirling Harmony around gracefully. The girl gave a soft laugh, nodding her head. He was right. It was time for a new memory. A better one.

"Emma's going to make fun of you forever for what you did." Harmony said softly, changing the subject suddenly, before she frowned slightly. "Speaking of Em, where is she?"

* * *

**Kind of cliche, I know, but I wanted this to be a happy night for Harmony, so I made it into every girl's fantasy. Hope you guys liked it! Speaking of Emma though, where is she?! **

**The song that Harmony and John are having a spotlight dance to will be announced in a later chapter. That's about as much I can give away1 **


	122. Prom Part: 3

Emma, as it would turn out, wasn't on the dance floor. No. Instead, she was sitting in a seat, her knees curled up to her chest as hot tears filled her vision, but she refused to cry them. Why would such a pretty girl be sitting all alone, in the corner of the gym instead of out on the dance floor? Well, that's easy. It's because her date had been a no show.

The girl had waited at her home—after dragging Harmony and John out of the castle—for nearly two hours, waiting for her date to show up. But he never did. And now, the girl knew why, when she looked out on the dance floor and saw him making out with a brunette. Her senior prom…was ruined. She had no date. She didn't want to bother her friends with her problems, when they were all so happy. And she was all alone, in a small corner of the gym, wondering why everyone but blonde's have their dream proms.

"Hey. You wanna dance?" A familiar voice made Emma slowly look up, sniffling, and wiping away at her eyes. Though the voice was familiar, Emma knew that it was probably some geek asking her to dance after his date had bailed. But, what other option did she have besides dance with him and not be miserable? Slowly, she sniffled again, and looked up fully at the boy.

The first thing she noticed were his big, green eyes.

Only one person could have eyes that big without making them look bug eyed, the girl's mind recognized, as she scanned the boy's features, and let her jaw drop almost to the floor.

"C-Cori?" Emma asked incredulously, as the boy grinned, nodding slowly. "H-how the hell did you…I mean…yeah, how the hell did you get _here_?!" Cori was just grinning, loving the shock factor from Em. What was surprising was that even through his shirt, Emma could see the faint trace of muscles that were starting to appear on his seemingly lanky form. His messy, never brushed out, light brown hair fell right over his eyes, making him leisurely brush it away, still staring intently at Emma with a grin.

"Stole my sister's bracelet, and had my cousins' cover for me back in Atlantica." Cori said with a shrug, easily wiggling his bare toes. Land was like the sea to him; just a place. Unlike his sister, and Aunt Ariel, he really could care less about the world above, or the world below for that matter. But, he'd known he had to find someway to get to this prom thing when he heard his sister complaining about it weeks before. So, when his sister was asleep, he'd stolen her bracelet, and stashed it under his bed. The girl never knew a thing.

"Bu-but…your freaking dressed!" Emma persisted, dumbfounded. She may not be the class valedictorian, but she did know that if you come out of the sea and you weren't wearing any clothes before…well, you'd be naked.

Seeing the dumbfounded look still on Emma's face, Cori grinned even wider. "It's not the first time I've ever done this." Cori said easily, his grin too big for his young, fifteen year old face. His jeans and tee shirt made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but hell, he wasn't going to miss this for the world. Emma gave a sniffle, wiping off her tears with the back of her arm and hoping that her mascara hadn't smudged. For some reason, the fact she had been crying upset Cori to no degree.

"You wanna talk 'bout it?" Cori asked quietly, motioning towards Emma's still sniffles. It surprised the girl how much she really did want to talk about this, just have someone understand, instead of being the oldest and just automatically invincible.

"My date ditched me for another girl." The girl said, looking off at the dance floor where her boyfriend of the week was giving a hickey to another girl. Hell, Emma didn't even _like_ him that much. But it just hurt that he wouldn't show up, crushing her prom dreams all in one blow.

"Which one is he? I'll beat the crap out of him." Cori said calmly, keeping his anger in check as he scanned the crowd of teens. They all swayed back and forth to the music, kissing, making out, getting hickeys…the boy wondered which one of those boys had been stupid enough to ditch Emma. Emma barked out a slightly hysterical laugh at that.

"Don't do anything for me. It'll only make things worse." Oh crap. Here comes the waterworks again, the girl thought, panicking as she could feel herself tearing up. Cori gave a shrug.

"I was just going to try and beat some sense into him." Seeing the clear dumbfounded look coming again on Emma's face, Cori gave a half hearted sigh and explained. "Maybe if I beat the crap out of him, his common sense will finally return, and he'll see how much of an idiot he is, letting a girl like you slip through his fingers." Emma almost laughed at the joke…before she realized it _wasn't_ a joke. Cori was serious. The way his green eyes stared intently at her just said it all.

"Ya mean it?" Emma asked cautiously, but when Cori gave a firm nod, she let out a breathe she hadn't known she'd been holding, and gave a sort of half smile. "Thanks kid." Kid. That's all Cori was. It was stupid to think of him in any other way, considering he was but fifteen…and yet…

"No prob." Cori said, back to his grinning self, before he pulled Emma up. "Now c'mon. Let's dance!" Cori said, excitedly as he scanned the crowd of teenagers. They were all too busy with one another to pay attention to the dripping wet boy next to Emma.

"Bu-but…" Emma tried to argue, as her hand was pulled and she was dragged on the dance floor. She was a full head and a half taller than Cori, but that didn't seem to make the boy mind one bit as he copied what the other couples were doing. He put his hands around Emma's waist, and pulled her close, as the girl, a bit warily, put her arms around his neck.

"You do realize that if it wasn't for the fact my date went awol on me…I wouldn't ever do this with you, right? I mean...like I've said before…I don't date down." Emma asked slowly, as she felt Cori's hands move higher up on her waist, as though knowing that going too far down would make the girl uncomfortable.

"Oh I know." Cori answered cheerily, still in good spirits as his bare, wet feet swayed across the dance floor. "But, I'm never going to give up Em." Cori said, blinking as he looked upwards at the girl he had a most-obvious crush on. Emma blinked, raising a brow for a moment, before shaking her head and managing to smile, if only a little bit.

"You know what? I don't think I'll ever mind that." The girl said, grinning just like Cori. And what was amazing was that…she meant it too. Maybe this wasn't her spotlight dance, and maybe this wasn't her dream prom date…but hell, she liked it just as much, if not better. And no one was going to change her mind about that.

* * *

**A full Emma chapter! I don't know, but I thought this would be cute, and a sort of nice break from Harmony. Don't worry, next chapter It'll return to Harmony! **

**Speaking of which, I've come at a sort of cross road guys. I'm not sure what story to do next. A prequel to the Harmony Something Series (when Harmony just disapeared as a baby), an Emma story (...Emma falling in love in the most un-convenient of places) or just a regular, and last sequel to this story, about...well, I really can't give you any details about that! So please, choose one and tell me which you'd like. Personally, I could care less, but it's up to all of you to say it in your reviews!**


	123. The Feather Cut

"Harmony...Harmony, sweetheart, time to wake u-up…" Ariel called into her daughter's room, leaning against the door post of the girl's room while adjusting her light green dress so that the hemline was properly covering her legs.

Harmony gave a groan, burrowing herself deeper into the sheets of her bed, as she wondered how the weekened had gone by so quickly. With a little bit of magic, the had turned back all the clocks in the palace to two hours behind on Saturday night, letting her and John actually come home at four in the morning, instead of two. Then when the girl had come back—a bit tipsy, along with John—she'd reset the clocks back to their original times, with no one being the wiser. It was a fool proof method the girl had been using since…well, since Ariel and Eric had upped the security around the palace on the suspicion that their teenage daughters were sneaking out.

Sunday both Harmony and John had slept off the effects of the night prior, never coming out of their rooms (or so Ariel and Eric thought). And now, today, Monday, a week till Harmony and John would be wed, they were being woken…for school.

"If you're not going to wake up, then can you at least show me a sign that you're still alive?" Ariel called into the girl's room, yawning as she rested her eyes a moment. Harmony was lying down on her stomach, just the top of her red head showing from the sheets of her bed.

"Uhhh." Harmony gave a groan, and raised one foot in the air, before dropping it. Ariel managed a small, amused smile, before shaking her head. In a week the girl was to be wed, and she still acted like a child. Really though, could the mother blame her? Harmony _was_ technically still a child.

"If you're not down for breakfast in ten minutes Harmony, you'll be grounded." Ariel finally said, raising her brows at the teenager who still did not want to wake. With a moan, Harmony turned over in her bed, wrapped around in the sheets still, and blearily opened up an eye. But that was enough for Ariel to know that the girl would wake up and be down for breakfast.

"Nine minutes." Ariel called to the girl with a laugh, before shutting the door to her daughter's room. Harmony laid in bed a moment, listening to the click-click-click-click of her mother's heels slowly fade away, before the girl blindly reached over to her nightstand, pulled on her glasses, and then dragged her body out of bed.

It used to be that Harmony skipped breakfast entirely, and went to school hungry. But, after her and Melody un-switched places and were back in their own bodies, Melody had confessed to her mother what Harmony's school day was like…and the fact that Harmony didn't eat anything in the morning hadn't flown well with the Queen. By adjusting breakfast time just a little, Ariel managed to make _sure_ there was enough time for Harmony to eat something in the morning _and_ get to school on time.

Harmony gave a sigh, shaking those thoughts from her head then as she twitched one of her fingers, and watched with mild interest as her nightgown was suddenly replaced by a pair of ripped jean short shorts, a small, ocean blue tank top, and John's sweatshirt, which completely covered her short shorts. Her parents wouldn't be too pleased with her outfit, but whatever. With another twitch of her finger and a yawn, her faded, dirty, worn converse came on her feet.

Skipping to her full length mirror, the girl grinned when she saw her reflection. She only needed to run her fingers through her hair once before all the knots were out and it was looking perfect. She really did like her hair better this way, Harmony mused, before grabbing her old baseball cap and heading downstairs.

At the breakfast table, Coral sat in her seat next to her Aunt, exhaustedly staring at her pancakes and wondering if she'd fall into them. John's head was resting in his hand, his eyes closed as he was half asleep, sitting next to the empty chair which was Harmony's. And Ariel and Eric had the morning paper folded on the table in between them, as they talked in low voices about something or another and scanned the articles.

Just perfect, Harmony thought to herself, no actual sarcasm in her mental voice for once. If it was like this than no one would realize what she'd done until later, therefore sparing her the initial, and probable yelling that would come so early in the morning. Slipping into her seat silently, the girl removed the cover off of her plate of buttermilk pancakes, and grabbed the bottle of syrup from a half asleep Coral.

"Harmony, hats off at the table." Ariel said, without even looking up at her daughter. Harmony gave a slight grimace, before leaning closer to her plate and hoping her mother wouldn't pay attention to her any longer.

Unfortunately for her, it was that exact moment Ariel flashed her eyes upwards to her daughter, and saw that the girl still had that hat on. Somehow, or so it seemed, Harmony had managed to tuck all of her red hair beneath the baseball cap, though it escaped Ariel how on earth such a thing could be done with the girl's thick, long hair.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again young lady. Either take off the hat, or go to your room." Ariel's clear, firm voice said, putting down her fork as she gazed in annoyance at her daughter. Harmony knew that tone; it was the type that usually got her grounded. With a sigh, Harmony brought her hand to her hat, and took it off.

Ariel's jaw dropped to the table, her eyes widening as her hand went to her mouth in horror. John blinked, once, twice, three times, swallowing in fear as his brown eyes went colossal. Coral stared in wonder and alarm at her cousin, her eyes not understanding. It was only Eric, who was so wrapped up in reading an article who didn't notice. But, why would his wife leave him out of the fun?

"Er-Eric." Ariel choked out, her hand somehow finding her husband's arm. Her gaze never left Harmony, horrorstricken that her daughter would do such a thing. What had Harmony done? Easy. She cut off her hair.

Only yesterday morning had Harmony's red hair been waist long, with loose tendrils that always fell into her face. But now…now Harmony's waist long hair was no longer. Instead, her hair reached to her collar bone, layered considerably with flat bangs that fell just across her forehead neatly. And it was needless to say that the girl's family was shocked.

"What Ariel?" Eric wondered, looking up at his wife…who wasn't looking at him. She was staring straight across at their daughter. With a sigh, Eric turned his gaze to his daughter…and nearly choked on his pancakes in his shock.

"What?" Harmony asked, a bit peeved that everyone in her family stared at her as though she'd grown a third eye, and had grown a tail.

"Harmony. Althea. Benson. Princess. Of. Shireland." Ariel slowly said, each word coming out as its own sentence because of the speed she was going at. "What happened to your beautiful, long, hair?" Ariel was having difficulty comprehending this. Why would Harmony cut off her hair? Her beautiful hair that made her look like her mother! Why?!

"I cut it." Harmony answered, swallowing some of her pancake before looking back up at her shocked family. "Don't cha like it?" Harmony asked, though she already knew the answer.

"No." Ariel said quietly in horror, shaking her head back and forth slowly. That's when her breath became labored. "How could you—why would you—oh your beautiful hair!" Ariel moaned, as though it actually pained her to see her daughter's hair so short now.

"Well,_ I_ like it." Harmony said with a shrug, as her mother kept staring at her in horror, unable to make words form in her mouth to say aloud. Coral kept staring at her cousin in slight wonder, running her fingers through her own loose brunette locks. John couldn't take his eyes off of Harmony—but maybe that was a _good_ thing.

"Eric, do something!" Ariel moaned, burying her face in her hands as she could already feel one of those bad migraines coming on. Eric ran his fingers through his black hair, blinking in shock still as he looked at his daughter, but managing, somehow, a sigh.

"Ariel, what do you want me to do?" Eric wondered with a heavy sigh. "I can't turn back time to stop her from cutting her hair...and besides, it'll grow back out." Eric's voice sounded exhausted, Harmony realized. Maybe her Dad should get some more sleep...or maybe just dealing with her was enough to drive anyone to the point of exhaustion.

"But _why_ would you cut it?!" Ariel moaned again, looking at her daughter through the slits in between her fingers, since her hands were covering her eyes. How could the girl cut off all her hair? Why would she do such a thing?! "I can't even _begin _to tell you how much trouble you're in for this stunt Harmony." Ariel's fury was starting to set in, Harmony realized with a slight grimace. If she didn't leave soon, she'd be mincemeat.

"Um…I've gotta get to school now…bye!" Harmony said, grabbing John's arm and Coral's wrist, before saying a quick word under her breath…and disappearing all together from the dinner table.

* * *

**Okay, sorry i haven't updated in awhile. I've been busy. :( But i did it now! Can you believe it?! Harmony cut off her hair! Oh Ariel will be furious when the girl comes back! Oh she's going to get it! And what about John and Coral? What will they have to say about Harmony's new hairstyle? find out if you review! **

**P.S. I posted the picture of what Harmony's new haircut is. I think you should all check it out because I'm not so sure my description was very good...**


	124. She Hates Me, She Hates Me Not

Harmony peeked around every corner of her home, almost as though she was a thief afraid to be caught. Well, when you really thought about it, half of that statement was true. She _was_ afraid to be caught.

Ariel hadn't seemed to be too happy of a camper at breakfast today when she'd seen Harmony's new haircut. But at the time, Harmony had an escape route, and she'd gone to school as fast as she could, knowing that things would have gotten ugly had she stayed. So why not stay in Nebraska, if Ariel would be on a rampage?

Well, for one, Harmony was quite sure that her bed back in her old home was too small to fit her any longer. Two, the girl didn't feel like having Emma kick her sister out of their shared room, so Harmony could take her bed. And three, Harmony wouldn't be able to see John when she went to breakfast, if she wasn't here in Shireland.

Peeking around the corner of a corridor, and finding the coast clear, Harmony slid across the marbled floors of her home with her school socks. Looking up at one of the many, many, many old fashioned clocks, Harmony realized she'd been trying to avoid her mother for more than three hours now; that is to say, it was 7:30. Dinner was usually served at around six, but Harmony had skipped it (or so she thought) in an effort not to see her mother. She was getting hungry…maybe she should go down to the kitchen and find some food…yes. That's what she'd do, she would go to the kitchen and eat something, and then run back to her room, without anyone being the wiser.

Unfortunately, the redhead never got the chance to do so, because it was that exact moment the girl, who hadn't been paying attention whatsoever to what was in front of her…bumped into someone. Alright, maybe 'bumped into' was putting it lightly, seeing as how Harmony immediately lost her balance and fell backwards, with a smarting forehead.

"Ow! Mother Fuc—" Harmony was suddenly cut off when she looked up at who she had bumped into…and saw that it was her mother. The girl gulped, as Ariel raised her brows, un-amused and almost daring the girl to continue with her sentence. "Hehe. H-Hi Mom." Harmony said, knowing she was in for it now. "I was just…just…bye!" Harmony finally said, scrambling to her feet and trying to make a break for it. But, she wasn't quick enough, and by the time she was back on her feet and trying to run, Ariel had latched her fingers onto the girl's ear, and was twisting it. _Hard_.

"Harmony Althea Benson, if I _ever_ hear you say something like that again, young lady, I will take away every privilege you have. Do you understand?" Ariel's voice was like steel, Harmony realized with a grimace and a yelp of pain as her ear was twisted even harder.

"Yes!" The girl cried out, yelping again in pain when her mother purposely twisted her ear harder because she didn't hear a reply.

"Good." Ariel finally said, momentarily satisfied with her daughter's answer. Slowly, Ariel eased off the girl's ear, but still kept her fingers attached to it in case the girl tried to run again. Letting her blue eyes travel up to the grandfather clock, the woman was amazed at what time it was.

"There's only half an hour until the dinner!" Ariel said, alarmed now as she did a once over on her daughter's appearance. "You still have to get dressed, and you need to do your hai—" Ariel cut herself off then, as her eyes locked onto Harmony's new, shorter, choppier hairstyle. Suddenly, she pressed her lips together in anger, as her eyes burned brightly, and though she didn't twist Harmony's ear as hard as before, she definitely let the message show that she wasn't happy, as she start to literally drag the girl to her dressing room.

"What dinner?" Harmony questioned, but her mother just tightened the grip on the girl's ear, making the poor redhead give a loud shriek in pain. Then it dawned on her. "Y-You don't mean…the formal dinner? I-I thought you said I didn't have to go!" Harmony's voice was now panicked beyond all recognition, as her voice shook slightly in fear.

"I changed my mind." Ariel said, tight lipped in her anger. Finally reaching her daughter's dressing room, she gave the girl an unexpected shove inside and shut the door angrily behind her.

"But…but…but…" Harmony could only repeat the same word that had brought about her epiphany over and over again, as her mother pulled out a camisole and underskirt from a chest of draws and threw it at her daughter. Harmony barely managed to catch both articles of clothing as they flew through the air.

"Put it on." Ariel's voice left no room for argument, as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared her daughter down with murder in her eyes. Harmony gave a sigh, looking once up at her mother, before she quickly left her dressing room and went to her own room, which had a dressing screen. By the time she got back to her dressing room, Ariel had taken upon herself to choose a dress for her daughter to wear.

"Ew, _pink_?" Harmony asked, her jaw dropping in outrage. Ariel locked her jaw, pressing her naturally red lips tightly together, a sure sign that she was furious beyond all compare. Her blue eyes stared down her daughter, a hand on her hip in her anger. It was Harmony who finally gave a sigh, and broke the tense silence. "_Fine_, I'll wear it. But I don't have to like it." Harmony grumbled, as Ariel pressed her lips so tightly together that they morphed into a fine line.

Quickly, the mother helped the girl slip into the beautiful pink dress that Harmony had immediately hated. While Harmony grimaced slightly as she caught sight of what she looked like in the vanity mirror, Ariel's quick fingers moved to tie the laces in the back of the girl's dress. She pulled on them so tightly that Harmony gave another shriek of pain, turning away from her mother quickly.

"What. The. Hell. Is your problem?" Harmon finally spat out, as Ariel's eyes narrowed, and she tried to keep herself from yelling at her daughter. "Okay, I cut my hair. So? Is it really that big of a deal that you have to try and hurt me? My god, if I wanted to feel pain, I'd find Janice and Austin and relive my childhood! Is that what you want? Do you want me to curl into a freaking ball and cry myself to sleep because my body hurts from the beating I just got?"

By this time, Harmony's voice was almost hysterical, and she could already feel the tears about to spill from her eyes. She slipped out of the pink monster of a dress, and fell backwards onto the couch—or chaise, or whatever it was called—and buried her face into her knees as she softly sobbed at her old memories. She hardly noticed warm arms encircling her, as she sobbed against the owner of said arms.

"Shh. Shh honey." Ariel soothed quietly, rubbing her daughter's back so she could get the girl to calm down. "Oh sweetheart, don't cry. They can't hurt you; shh, you're safe now." Ariel continued to soothe her daughter, letting the girl cry against her with a slight, worried grimace. "Honey, you know I love you. I just don't love your life choices. I mean…_why _would you cut your beautiful long red hair?" Ariel asked the pain evident in her voice as she ran her fingers through the girl's short, choppy locks. Harmony gave a loud, hiccupping sob as she tried to get her tears under control, and pulled away from her mother.

"I-I don't wa-want to be like you-you." Ariel's brows went high in surprise at her daughter's hiccupping answer, a bit shocked by what the girl was saying.

"What do you mean?" Ariel's gentle voice inquired, surprise still laced into it. Not be like her? What on earth was the teen talking about?

"Every-everyone says I look ju-just like you…or-or I act like you…or sometimes they c-call me 'Ariel'. I-I…I just want to be-to be _me_." Harmony kept hiccupping, as Ariel brushed away the girl's tears with her thumb.

"Why wouldn't you have just told me that, instead of cutting off your hair?" Ariel's voice was still gentle, but there was some hurt in her voice that her daughter hadn't just talked to her.

"You know you can always tell me anything sweetheart." An immense feeling of déjà vu hit the mother at that. She'd had this conversation at least a hundred times with her daughter…but Harmony was never truly comfortable to talk to Ariel about anything. After years of holding in her true emotions, the girl couldn't bring herself to talk freely to her mother, like Melody had always been able to. Maybe it was the pleading in Ariel's eyes, or maybe it was her gentle voice and touch, but Harmony finally relented and started to speak.

"I-I would have. Bu-but you had said we'd ta-talk an-and you wouldn't pay attention to me wh-when I tried to-to talk to you…I-I thought…I thought you didn't care." Harmony said, quietly, as she looked away from her mother; wrapping her arms around her legs in the process as her lip quivered. She wasn't going to cry anymore. She'd promised herself back at her secret place that she'd be stronger now. Trouble was…how can you be strong, when both whole wide worlds…were against you?

"Oh _Harmony_." Ariel breathed, pushing back her own bright red hair at her stupidity. It was true. She'd promised the girl that they would talk…and every time Harmony had somehow hinted at the fact that a talk with her mother would really help her…Ariel had tried to be too dull headed and ignored. And that's why Harmony had cut her hair. All those times she'd wanted to talk…it had been a silent plea for help…and Ariel hadn't paid one bit of attention to it. It went against every maternal instinct in her body to do so, but she just wasn't ready to talk to her daughter…and know that she'd lose the girl…again. But looking at over at her daughter, who had her knees up to her chest and her face still fresh from crying, the former mermaid gave a soft sigh, knowing that she'd have to do this sooner or later. Lifting up Harmony's chin, the mother gently kissed her forehead, and spoke.

"Listen to me carefully, my darling little tune." Ariel said softly, kissing the girl's forehead again in motherly love. "Tomorrow, when you come home from school, we'll have a girl talk, just you and me."

"You're just saying that to shut me up." Harmony said with a soft snort, pulling her chin away from Ariel. But the Queen wasn't going to give up so easily on her only redheaded daughter.

"No I'm not sweetheart. And you know that." Ariel said in an even gentler, more coaxing tone to the teenager. "Tomorrow, after school, we'll talk about everything." The firm resolve in Ariel's tone made her daughter look up with a painful hope in her eyes. Ariel could have winced though. Had she really been making the girl feel so terrible by trying to avoid the issue? Well, no more.

"'K." Harmony finally answered, more skeptical than anything—because, after all, how many times had both worlds just given up on her—but there was still that underlining of hope to her tone that made her mother give her a smile and hug her close.

"Good." Ariel said with a rather painful smile. She knew tomorrow Harmony was going to say that she was moving to Nebraska—for good—after she was married. And Ariel knew it was going to break her heart. "Now, let's get you dressed." Despite her fears, Ariel still managed an upbeat tone, though it was tinged with sadness that Harmony couldn't hear nor understand. And Harmony, even through her sniffles and near-tears managed a small groan, just for acting's sake, because like her mother, she was scared of what would happen tomorrow. So for now, both mother and daughter said nothing about the elephant in the room, though it weighed heavily on them as they acted out all their movements in this strange play of life. But even though they could convince the world that they were alright…

They couldn't convince themselves.

* * *

**Well, don't kill me for not updating in so long. Life's been busy lately. But, to make up for it, I've updated ALL my stories, and made this chapter super long. So really, you've got to love me. It's 12:17 in Miami right now, and strangely, I'm not tired. I think that nap during History really helped me out...anyway...**

****

**So what do you guys think will happen when Ariel adn Harmony have that girl talk? Will Ariel's worst fear come true? Or will there be a plot twist? **What's going to happen at this formal dinner? Will it all go...*scary music* BAD? Will Harmony cry? What will happen? Ah. You have to review to find out!

Anyway, I should probably go to sleep now (though I'm not tired). Remember that I updated ALL my stories, so please reviews those too!


	125. You Talkin' to Me?

"How are your studies coming along, Princess?" A clear, curious voice asked, making Harmony look up in shock. Someone was talking to…_her_? But…no one ever talked to her at these types of things. _Neve_r. The girl gave a slightly panicked look to her parents at that, but Ariel and Eric were wrapped up in an entirely different conversation, not paying attention to their daughter. Harmony was on her own here.

"U-Um…g-good?" Harmony stuttered, her heart pumping like a drum in her chest. She managed to look up for a moment at the Duke (or was he a Lord, or an Earl, or an ambassador, or any other type of government type thing…?), before quickly looking back down at her dinner, her cheeks heating up.

"What are you learning now, your highness?" Another voice asked, and as Harmony dared look up again, she realized that almost everyone near her at the table was paying close attention to her. For most, being the center of attention is their life's ambition. For Harmony, who was usually shielded from the public eye by her parents, she was terrified of being the center of attention. The girl desperately tried to catch her parents eyes, but they weren't paying any attention to her still.

"I'm afraid Harmony isn't learning much, because she's always tutoring me." John's smooth voice fell into the conversation, saving Harmony from coming up with a lie about something in Shireland.

"Oh how sweet!" A woman—probably someone's wife—said in a voice sweeter than sugar itself. "You must be very intelligent, if you're able to tutor someone who isn't a Shireland native, Princess." The woman commented, as Harmony modestly kept her head down, and stared at her plate of food with still heated cheeks. What was happening? Why was everyone suddenly so…nice to her? Just a week before, these people hadn't been able to even look her in the eye, and now they were…they were interested in her life?

"It's really nothing." No, really truly, it _was_ nothing. John was always the one tutoring Harmony; not the other way around. The girl had a feeling he'd only said such a thing to try and help her; or maybe just to torture her, who knew?

"And she's trilingual. She can speak three different languages." John dropped his voice into the conversation again, as Harmony, oh so accidently under the table, grabbed his hand and made sure a thick block of ice surrounded his entire hand, before quickly letting go. Satisfied at her work, the girl let go of his hand with an almost unnoticeable smirk on her face. Though John kept his features smooth, and calm, there was a tiny painful look in his eyes that only Harmony smugly noticed.

"What languages, Princess?" Yet another nobledude asked, and Harmony could swear she could feel someone breathing down her neck. All this attention was really starting to become a bit…freaky.

Honestly, the last time she'd come to one of these dinners she'd been sixteen, and had told her mother she wasn't feeling well halfway through so she could be sent to bed. Truth really was though…that no one would even look at her. And now? Now these same people from just a year before were treating her...like…like…like _Melody_. It was a rather odd feeling.

"English, Spanish, and French." Harmony finally said, blushing as she looked down at her food. Everyone seemed impressed, as they all leaned in towards the Princess; something that really scared Harmony because usually they were leaning _away_ from her.

"Spanish?" It was another nobledude who asked this, as Harmony felt her cheeks go crimson as she nodded, and kept her gaze low on her food. The girl could hear her parents talking politics with someone else, but she completely ignored them, seeing as how they were ignoring her.

"In school, in my…other world, we sort of have to take a foreign language…so I chose Spanish." Harmony started out tentatively, raising her head slightly. She could feel John banging his still ice encased hand against her knee (because if he banged it against the table it would draw a scene), trying to, literally, break the ice. "But when I came back here…to Shireland…my parents want me to learn French…so…I did." Harmony said with a slight shrug, blushing further.

She almost let out a yelp of pain as John banged his ice encased hand against her knee so hard she felt it bruise. Grabbing the boy's hand under the table, she quickly sent a heat wave through the ice, so that it melted and she wasn't hurt any longer. Damn John and his reverse psychology.

"So from going to school in your other world, is that where you came across your…ideas…on what to do with the burned down schoolhouse?" Yet another person asked, as Harmony's cheeks went crimson, but she kept her chin up. It was just a schoolhouse; why did politics have to be involved?

"Kind of. I just…I just wanted to help; it's not like it's a big deal or anything." Harmony said, still blushing and looking at her plate. She felt awkward and weird here, surrounded by people actually talking to her.

"Speaking of the burned down schoolhouse, it's remarkable that you were able to save all those children, Princess. There are just so few heroines these days it seems…" It seemed yet another person said, this time another woman. Harmony looked up for a moment, confused, her brows furrowing together.

"Heroine?" Harmony asked dubiously. "What do drugs have to do with the schoolhouse?" Finally this statement seemed to grab Ariel and Eric's attention, as the blood drained from both their faces, realizing their daughter's mistake, though the girl did not. Ariel closed her eyes tightly a moment and repressed a sigh, before she looked back at her daughter with a slight grimace. She just knew this wasn't going to end well, she just knew it…

The nobles all around Harmony looked at one another in confusion for a moment…before they all cracked up at the joke. Harmony blinked, still confused out of all of this, but it suddenly became much clearer to the girl when John muttered her mistake so quickly and softly that the Harmony knew she was the only one to hear it. She flushed crimson…but still managed a weak smile to everyone else's laugh. Even Eric and Ariel joined in laughing, though weakly and more or less to make sure the dinner went smoothly. John gave a shrug and 'that-sucks' look to his girlfriend as his own response.

"Such wit!" Someone spluttered out, still laughing. They thought she'd been joking, Harmony realized. They hadn't realized her big mistake…they thought it was one big joke. The thought filled the girl with so much relief that a sigh came from her lips before she could stop it.

"Your majesties, the Princess is truly a gem." Someone else said, as Eric and Ariel looked at one another with wary expressions. Harmony repressed an eye roll in annoyance that she was being talked about as though she wasn't even here. Seriously! But then again, the girl knew things could be worse.

"More like a darling little tune." Ariel corrected, softly, to mostly herself as she smiled over at her daughter for a moment, before jumping back into the conversation.

* * *

**Review...yawn...**


	126. Girl Talk

"Ow! Stupid book bag!" Harmony cried out in pain, as she dropped her book bag…right on her foot. "I'll teach you to hurt me!" The girl said furiously, letting bright orange flames cover her hand. She was about to light her book bag on fire when she heard a familiar voice sigh behind her.

"Harmony, please, before you give me a heart attack; douse the flames on your hand." Ariel's motherly voice rang out, another sigh coming from her lips at that. Even though she knew the flames on Harmony's hand wouldn't hurt the girl because she was a witch…well, as a mother it still scared Ariel to see her baby's hand on fire.

"Fine." Harmony mumbled, un-lighting herself on fire, and settling for giving her book bag a good kick, before turning to her mother. "Whatcha' doin' in my room?" The girl wondered, apparently not noticing her thick southern accent, and her mother's wince at her terrible grammar.

"I promised you a girl talk today, didn't I?" Ariel replied, a small smile twitching at her lips as she pressed a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead. Using her hands, she started to try and smooth out the girls now shortened locks…that no matter how much she tried, Ariel couldn't like. But she could deal with it, for Harmony's sake.

"Oh…right." Harmony said, blinking once or twice as she finally remembered. So Ariel was keeping good on her promise? That was…weird. Ariel merely laughed at her daughter's surprised, and wary attitude.

"Here, sit sweetheart." Ariel said, forcing the girl to sit down on the edge of her bed. Running her fingers through her daughter's now short locks, the Queen didn't even try to repress her sigh.

"So um…uh…what do we talk about?" There were about a million conversations locked up in Harmony's mind right now, and she'd envisioned talking to her mother about everything for so long…but all that was thrown out the window now.

"Anything you want sweetie. I'm all ears." Ariel answered, brushing out Harmony's hair in a wasted attempt to make it look just a tad bit longer. Still, it wasn't as though Ariel couldn't understand why the girl had cut her hair...she just wished she would have paid more attention to the teen so that the girl wouldn't have done something so drastic.

"'K…" Harmony drawled out in her still thick southern accent. By now, Coral would be in Atlantica, having told her mother she was doing homework, when really she was in a soundproof music room, jamming on her electric guitar. John had probably collapsed somewhere into a deep sleep by now, since he hadn't been getting much of it lately. Between (somehow) ending up in detention with Harmony almost daily, homework, trying to keep up with his girlfriend, and that dinner last night, he was worn out. That dinner last night…the words made the young witch feel…odd. Perhaps that would be a good place to start off this conversation with Ariel…

"Um…that dinner last night." Harmony started, tentatively peeking across at her mother, almost expecting the woman to blow up and just storm out of her room. But Ariel, instead, only brushed aside a few strands of her daughter's hair, and smiled warmly and encouragingly at the girl.

"What about it?" Ariel prodded, though she knew what exactly Harmony was headed with this.

"Everyone was…I mean…" Harmony broke off suddenly, biting at her pinky nail (or what was left of it) and looked down at her socked feet. "They were all so…_nice. _They treated me like…like…_Melody_. Why would they…be so…like that?" Harmony managed to get the words out, slowly as she tried to arrange her thoughts in order. Ariel bit her lip for a moment, before letting loose a sigh and taking her daughter's scarred hands into her own.

"Honey, you literally went into a death trap of a burning schoolhouse, to save children. And even when you were sick, you were trying to improve the new schoolhouse that will be built." Ariel started, gathering her thoughts. "They respect you, darling, for doing those things. For risking your life for their children, even after all they've done to you, and not even expecting the tiniest award out of it. That's why they were treating you like…like a Princess." Here Ariel gave Harmony's hand a gentle, motherly squeeze, before her brows knit together in disapproval, and she frowned slightly.

"Though, you _know_ I don't like you and your sister comparing yourselves to one another, Harmony. You're both the same." Ariel chastised, gently with nothing really behind it. Harmony gave a heavy sigh, bringing her knees up to her chest and continuing on with biting her pinky nail.

"No, we're not, 'the same'." Harmony said firmly, turning her head to her mother with pain filled eyes, and another heavy sigh. "Melody was meant to be a Princess…and a Queen. I, on the other hand, am meant to be…to be…" Here is where Harmony trailed off, because she didn't exactly know what she was meant to be. Not a journalist…that was just a short term goal. Not go to college either…that was also a short term goal. So then, what?

"Eerie, isn't it? Not knowing what you're meant to be in this life." Ariel commented, as her daughter gave a snort and shook her head at her mother.

"What would you know about it?" Harmony asked bitterly, tracing the sky blue sheets on her bed with her finger, and therefore not looking up at her mother. But the girl did look up at her mother when she heard the woman give an off laugh.

"What would_ I_ know about it?" Ariel repeated, giving another off laugh as she pointed to herself. "Harmony, out of seven sisters—"

"Eight." Harmony corrected quickly, as her mother raised a brow at that. "You forgot Ali." The teen explained, feeling kind of sheepish for pointing this out to her mother. Ariel's lips curled in amusement though, as she realized she had forgotten all about her two year old baby sister. She _really_ needed to go to Atlantica…

"Alright." Ariel amended. "Out of _eight_ sisters, I'm number seven." Ariel corrected herself, starting off again with raised brows to see if Harmony would correct her. "Don't you think I wondered what life held in store for me? I had no idea what I wanted to be in the long run, _ever_, until…" Here a nostalgic smile fell on Ariel's lips as she looked at her daughter. "Until I married your father. That's when I knew what I wanted to be in the long run."

"A Queen?" Harmony questioned, flopping backwards on her bed. She could feel her mother's slim, gentle fingers pushing the hair away from her face, and stroking her cheek lovingly.

"No, you silly girl. Being a Queen hardly even passed my mind." Ariel answered gently, still stroking her daughter's cheek in a loving way, with a small smile on her naturally red lips.

"So then what did you wanna be?" Harmony questioned again, raising herself up on her elbows so that she could see her mother better. Confusion and unknowing were in her tone, and briefly, her mother wondered if that's how she had been all those years ago.

"A wife. And when I found out I was pregnant, a good mother." Ariel answered, leaning down to kiss her baby's cheek. Harmony was silent for a moment, letting her mother stroke her now shortened locks, before looking back up at her.

"You found out what you wanted to be in the long run, sure...but like, it doesn't change the fact that you're a Queen. And my mom. I mean, I know I was born into this kind of system where I have to become a Queen someday…but I just can't." Harmony said honestly, flopping on her back again and turning her head away from her mother. "I can't do public speaking, I can't face a crowd of people, I can't 'look over' papers, I can't…I can't do anything Mom." Harmony whispered, her head still turned away from Ariel so the woman didn't see the hot tears that had pooled at the teenager's eyes. Ariel only stroked her daughter's hair gently, before finally answering the teen.

"But you already do all of that darling." Ariel's soft voice said, still stroking the girl's short red hair. "You sing at the club, in front of probably more than a hundred teenagers; that's even harder than speaking. You face all of them for three nights in a row; three nights in a row is a long time honey. You look over different pieces of music that everyone in the band as wrote, and try to morph it all together to create a song, with lyrics too." Ariel paused a moment, letting her words sink in, before continuing. "Don't doubt yourself darling. You _can_ do anything you put your mind too, absolutely anything, and that involves being a Queen." Here Harmony turned her head over on her bed to face her mother, as she wiped off the tears from her eyes.

"But what if…what if I'm scared? I mean…I know this is in like, a gazillion years…but like…I'm just…terrified. Plain 'n simple." Harmony answered back, and she was surprised when she heard her mother give an indignant laugh. She searched the woman's face for any sign of what was going on in her mind…but nothing.

"Honey, everyone is scared when it comes to doing something important…and ruling an entire kingdom is one of those things." Ariel said with a chuckle. "You can ask your father how bad I started shaking in fear when they were doing the coronation. I don't know how they managed to put the crown on my head from how bad I was that night…" Ariel mused, a still slight chuckle in her voice as she remembered it. But Harmony only gave a heavy sigh, and turned her head upwards so that she was looking at the ceiling.

"I still don't know…" Harmony trailed off warily, still looking up at her ceiling as she heard her mother's soft sigh that she wasn't able to get through the teen yet. "I just don't think I'm the right girl to be…to be something so important." Giving a sidelong glance to her mother for a moment, Harmony then added in a too soft, tiny voice, "When I go to college …and if I don't become Queen…before you guys kick me out and like, disown me and stop…loving me, can I at least say goodbye to everyone?"

Ariel gave a sudden gasp, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. Was Harmony serious? Was she seriously thinking that her mother would throw her out on the street and disown her? She may not have ever been the best mother in the world to her daughter…but never once had she disowned the girl. Never once had she told the girl she didn't love her. Maybe at the time it had seemed like she did disown the girl, but never had she spoken the words 'I disown you' or 'I don't love you' aloud to the girl! No, Harmony must be kidding…but after sneaking a peek at the girl's face, Ariel came to the conclusion that the girl wasn't kidding. And that's when it all fell into place for the mother.

While she'd been thinking that Harmony would go back to Nebraska, for good…Harmony had been thinking that if she went to University or didn't become Queen…she'd be tossed out into the street. The sudden relief of her daughter's inadvertent way of saying she was staying in Shireland, and Nebraska like she was now filled Ariel with relief. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding in.

"Harmony…" Ariel said, trying to rid herself of the relieved tears she could feel pooling at her eyes. "Harmony, my baby, my darling, my little tune, do you really believe that I can just…just say that I disown you, and stop loving you? Do you?" Harmony felt something wet hit her cheek. With furrowed brows she looked up…to see tears falling down her mother's face. But…but that was impossible! Ariel never cried!

"Um…" Harmony hesitated, looking down at her bed spread as she hoisted herself up on her elbows again. Ariel gave a laugh-sob type of thing, and wiped her tears on her dress sleeve, though it did little to stop more tears from overflowing.

"Harmony, my goodness, don't you understand?" Ariel asked, wiping more of her tears on her dress sleeve. "I can never just cut you off completely from my life, my precious little girl. I love you unconditionally, even though you drive me to the edge of insanity at times." Here Ariel gave another laugh-sob, wiping off more of her tears. "I'm never going to just toss you aside darling. You should know that."

"You…are you for real?" Harmony asked, though it seemed like a pointless question thanks to Ariel's tears. "So…you aren't going to…to…" Harmony trailed off, not wanting to say the words, but her mother knew what they were anyway.

"Not in this lifetime, baby." Ariel said, shaking her head back and forth as she gave another laugh sob, and leaned down so that she could kiss the girl's forehead lovingly. And for once, Harmony actually believed her.

* * *

**This is an uber long chapter to make up for all the days I haven't updated! I'm exhuasted, it's 1:07 in the morning, but I'm not letting myself sleep until I can write out an Altered Reality Chapter, and The Gift of Love chapter! **


	127. A Rather Shocking Dinner

Band practice was normal…well, almost normal. Both Stephen and Cori were shocked at Harmony's new hairstyle, but quickly warmed up to it. Seby did a double take when he saw Harmony's new doo, but after a moment, he sighed and held up his claws in defeat, determined not to have to have anything to do with teenage craziness. And Coral? Well…Coral was a no show to practice.

Harmony did what came naturally to her at first; she lied. She told her band mates that Coral was stuck in detention, and the girl had said she'd be late. But after band practice was over, and it was nearly time for dinner, Harmony started to actually grow worried for her younger cousin's sudden disappearance. How would she be able to explain such a thing to her Aunt Attina? Or her other overprotective Aunts for that matter? Thankfully though, her family's thoughts were more or less preoccupied with another thing when they first saw Harmony swim into the dining hall, and slip into a seat next to Cori.

"What happened to your hair Harmony?" It was Arista who first noticed her niece's new haircut, as her mouth formed a perfect 'O' in horror. Harmony's family, who had hardly noticed the girl's expert skill at sneaking in without being noticed, all whipped their heads in the direction of the girl…and consequently all their mouths dropped.

"I cut it." Harmony said with a shrug, ignoring the smirk off of Cori's features. He was already used to Harmony's haircut, though it had been only a few hours since the girl had shown up with it.

"It looks bloody awesome!" Myra's fifteen year old voice broke through the sudden silence at the table to her oldest cousin, almost breathless as she smiled fully at the girl's haircut.

"Gracias." Harmony said with a return grin to her cousin's smile and lit up eyes. Though, she couldn't help notice how the fifteen year old was starting to finger her own long locks thoughtfully.

"You look weird." Ashton's voice was the next to comment, scrunching up his nose at his oldest cousin. It's not like he didn't like the girl; far from it, he thought she was the catfish's meow. But…it was just so strange not to see Harmony's hair in a long braid behind her back.

"And ugly." Shawn joined in, pointing out a flaw to his cousin. Did the girl really look ugly? In his eyes, since he was like a little brother to her, yes, she did. But then again, she _always_ looked ugly, no matter what.

"Well _I_ think Harmony looks really pretty." Serene said with a happy go lucky, nine year old smile to her cousin. The girl started brushing her fingers through her side ponytail, undoing all the knots inside of it, before an idea popped up in her head. "Mom? Can I cut my hair like Harmony?" The girl asked with an even brighter smile to her mother, who's hand was covering her mouth in horror as she stared at Harmony's shortened locks.

"_No_." It was the force behind that little word that suddenly made Serene slump in her seat; her shoulders going down as she figured out her hopes had been dashed. She liked her long hair, she really did…but it was just so hard to tame, and during recess it constantly got in her eyes. And besides, it looked really pretty on Harmony, so maybe it would look pretty on her too!

"Did you cut it because of Jonathan?" Adella finally inquired, trying to figure out a reason as to why her niece would cut off her long red hair. It had to be because of that boy, it just had to! There was no way Harmony would do such a thing otherwise!

"If he's making you do things you don't want to Harmony…" Triton trailed off, and Harmony knew immediately the end of that statement had to do with the trident and an electrical blast to John's brain. Though technically Attina was the Queen of Atlantica, she felt the trident was more of a cumbersome thing, so she never carried it around with her, and consequently never used it for any purpose, leaving her father to be really the only one who truly knew how to use it.

Harmony almost gave a sigh. She new that her family was overprotective of her, but geez, this was her grandfather! He was supposed to chuckle when Ariel had a difficult time trying to get Harmony to do something; not almost-threaten to kill her boyfriend because she cut her hair. Still, the idea of John trying to make Harmony do something _was_ pretty funny…

"Oh god no. It's not like that at _all_." Harmony said, nearly choking on her blue whale milk in the process of almost laughing. "No offense, but um, _why_ would I cut it because of him? He's just my boyfriend, not my like my god or anything." Harmony said with a rather cheeky grin towards her family.

"So then…if not that…did you do it for a sport?" Aquata asked in a horrorstricken voice desperately tried to figure out a reason, like her family, as to why Harmony would suddenly cut of her hair.

"Nah. I'm on off season for the next two and a half months." Harmony answered with a shrug, warily poking at some type of food on her plate.

"A joke maybe?" Andrina tried also, ignoring her daughter slumped her seat. Serene was a nine year old girl; the minute you give her a new doll she would forget all about that crazy idea of hers to cut her hair.

"Uh uh." Harmony answered again, starting to get a bit ticked by all these questions, though all she did to show it was wrap her finger around her blue streak of hair (oh yes, it was still there) and twirl it around her finger.

"Is it in fashion in your world?" Alana asked, grimacing slightly as she looked at Harmony's shorter, choppier, red hair.

"Sort of." That was an easier answer for Harmony than having to explain that in Nebraska (or really the entire _world_) there wasn't one type of haircut in fashion because there were just so many. But 'sort of' wasn't good for her family.

"You and Coral had a bet, didn't you?" Attina said finally, trying to keep her food down as she stared at her niece. The feature that made her look the most like her mother…was gone. But with it gone…suddenly Attina was seeing more differences in the girl that made her look more like _both_ her father and mother, and not just one.

"Um…no." Harmony answered, before finally getting fed up with the 20 questions. "I just wanted a change; is that so hard for you guys to understand? John and Coral had nothing to do with it." Harmony said with an eye roll, before looking at her grandmother for support…and finding Athena wasn't there. Huh. That was weird.

"Where _is_ Coral?" Attina finally broke away from her shocked thoughts about Harmony's new haircut, and onto thoughts on where her daughter could be at this time.

"Dead, I hope." Cori said with a dreamy grin…which immediately fell off his features from the icy look his mother sent him. "What?" The boy asked indignantly to his mother. "It could happen. I mean, she wasn't at band practice."

"Wasn't?" Attina blinked in surprise at the words, ignoring the chatter of the other children who had long since moved on from the subject of Harmony's hair and were now debating whether they'd get in trouble if they started a food fight in tide school. Suddenly, the mother's whipped her head in the direction of Harmony, and let her words come out slowly and clearly.

"Harmony, where is my daughter?" Attina's voice was a mix between slight anger, and slight force to the girl. Harmony sunk in deeper into her seat, finally noticing all of the adults looking straight at her…hell, even the kids had stopped their incessant chattering and were looking straight at her in wonder.

"She's um…uh…" Harmony trailed off, her cheeks as fiery as her hair. Her Aunt's green orbs suddenly started to grow wider in horror, as she realized her niece hadn't any idea where her daughter could be. Attina opened her mouth to yell at the girl, her horror mixed in with anger as she—

"Right here." Coral's chipper voice sounded, the girl happily smiling at her family. The breathe of relief couldn't have been bigger from her parents. "Sorry I'm late." The girl said with a shrug, her long brunette hair tucked under Harmony's old baseball cap that she'd stolen. "I went to the mall with Lizzie, Em, Matt, and some other guys, and totally lost track of time. We really didn't even shop though, we just messed around for awhile." The girl said with a smile, before remembering something else about what she'd done at the mall.

"Oh! Right! I forgot, I also my hair cut. Ta da!" Coral cried out, taking the cap off her head…and letting her hair fall down. Her long brunette hair had been cut in a rather nice fashion, where it sloped downwards, so that the further down you went, the longer it was, though 'longer' in this case means an inch lower than the girl's chin. Coral's positively thrilling smile couldn't have been any bigger. But the same could not be said for the girl's family.

Attina nearly choked to death on her food. Her husband blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend this. The rest of the family sucked in a loud breath. Harmony was the only one who spoke.

"Oh. Shit."

* * *

**Uh oh, Coral cut her hair! What will happen? Find out if you review (and that's not a request!) Oh, and in case your wondering, Coral's haircut is modeled after the (brunette) Beckham Bob. ****It's not on my profile, but you can google it easily and find image results; that's what I did!**


	128. Guilt and Comforting

Harmony sat on the opposite wall of her Aunt Attina's shell door. Next to her was Cori, who looked up at the clock (or the Atlantican version of a clock) before sighing and letting his shoulders slump. Inside the room there was still yelling going on, though from whom it was hard to tell, and what they were saying was equally as hard to make out because of how the room muffled their voices.

"Harmony?" Cori finally asked, breaking the silence between the two teens. They had been waiting here since after dinner.

Harmony's reason was pure guilt; she knew if she hadn't cut her hair, Coral wouldn't have copied her and done the same, and now Attina was yelling the crap out of that girl, while Harmony hadn't had to deal with that Ariel. Cori's reason was because he wanted to at least keep his cousin company. But nightfall was already here, and he was exhausted from a day at tide school.

"I'm gonna go to my room, okay? I'll see you Thursday." The boy said, not bothering to say more before he got up and swam away. And then…there was just Harmony.

Mentally, the girls started to review in her mind every detail about when Coral had come back and shown her knew haircut off. After only a few moments of shocked silence from the girl's family, Attina had grabbed the girl and hauled her off—with her husband in tow—to her own room to deal with this. And Harmony understood, slightly, why.

Coral, being the eldest merchild (okay, well, the eldest who was born as a mermaid) was supposed to follow in her mother's fin strokes, or so everyone besides those who were close to the girl thought. She was supposed to be responsible, and mature…not rebellious and wild. While Harmony's problem was easily handled (people thought she looked like Ariel, but they didn't think she was), Coral's was more difficult, seeing as how everyone believed the girl should be like her mother.

And Harmony knew more than anyone how much the girl had tried to break away from her mother, and no matter how many stunts she pulled (getting a belly button ring, stealing her Grandfather's chariot and drag racing with it, getting drunk and making out with random boys) people still believed her to be her mother. So in a last ditch effort, the girl had cut off her hair, trying to probably prove that she wasn't responsible, she wasn't mature, and she most definitely was not her mother. But it wasn't Coral cutting her hair that had Attina in a tizzy, oh no, it was that Coral cutting her hair was the last straw for the mother.

"Harmony, shouldn't you be back home by now?" A quiet voice said, startling Harmony out of her musings as she looked up. Her grandmother had an eyebrow up in question, her face half alighted by some sort of weird, Atlantican lamp type thingy. Harmony gave a shrug.

"I told Mom I was staying for dinner."

"Dinner was four hours ago." Athena noted, before letting here penetrating green eyes stare at the shadows in which her granddaughter was hiding. Harmony gave a soft sigh, feeling her grandmother's eyes upon her, but refused to acknowledge them. When Athena realized she wouldn't be getting an answer from her daughter any time soon, she grabbed the girl's arm and hauled the guilty thing to a sitting room that was well lighted. For a moment, she blinked, not sure if this was Harmony or not because of the girl's new…haircut. Of course, she'd heard from almost everyone what Coral and Harmony had done…but it was rather shocking to see it up close.

"Oh _Harmony_." Athena whispered, reaching out a hand to feel the girl's short locks. "I knew you were an independent thinker, but your beautiful hair?" Athena mourned, letting her fingers fall through the girl's short locks with a hurtful sigh.

"Lay off Grandma. I get enough crap from Mom, and everyone else as it is." Harmony said rather testily, moving her head away from her grandmother's hand. "Besides, it's just hair. It has to grow sooner or later." Hopefully later, Harmony added mentally, but decided that may not be the safest route to take.

"I suppose." Athena said with a slight sigh towards her granddaughter's rash decisions regarding her life. Still, that didn't mean she wasn't curious as to why Harmony had been outside of her Aunt Attina's room. But, before Athena could bring up the subject, Harmony gave a sigh.

"If I hadn't cut my hair, neither would Coral, and things wouldn't be so difficult. I mean, her 'rents are probably gonna say she can't be friends with me anymore 'cuz I'm a bad influence, and she's like, one of my bff's, and I just can't afford to lose anyone, not after all the crap my life has gone through." Harmony explained to her grandmother's questioning glance. The girl gave another sigh, pulling her tail closer to her so that her chin could rest upon it. She felt Athena wrap a comforting arm around her, and give her a kiss on her forehead.

"Coral only cut her hair so that she could be seen as a rebellious teen, and not like the adult everyone wishes she'd be. I think she was just waiting for the right opportunity to do something so drastic; and you cutting your hair presented that opportunity." Athena's quiet, almost soothing voice said, as Harmony rested her weary head against her grandmother's shoulder.

"And besides dear, the two of you are inseparable; and I don't think Attina saying her daughter can't be friends with you will really impact your friendship. If I didn't know any better, I would think Emma, Coral, and yourself were all born conjoined triplets from the way you're always attached at each other's hips." Athena gave a good laugh at that thought.

"Thanks Grandma." Harmony mumbled, forcing her eyes to open up as she figured out she was falling asleep. Great, just great. She was falling asleep, she didn't have Coral yet, and she still needed to get back home to explain to a probably frantic Ariel why she was late. Just peachy.

"Your still here? Geez, by now I would have thought you went home. Then again; I'm precious cargo. Aunt Ariel would kill you if you forgot me." An all too familiar voice made Harmony's head snap up, as she managed a tired grin to her cousin. Coral looked…Coral looked worn out, but still quite chipper.

"Watch your ego mermaid." Harmony answered back, as Coral stuck her tongue out at her cousin, before smiling at her grandmother.

"What do you think of my haircut Grandmother? Isn't it awesome?" Coral asked, twirling her fingers through her shorter brunette hair. Athena stood up, and looked from Coral, to Harmony, and repeated the action again before sighing.

"I truly hope the both of you never have daughters, and if you do, they don't give you nearly as many headaches as you give your mother's." Athena answered simply, shaking her head at both the girl's, who rolled their eyes in response.

"Yeah yeah." Coral said with a dismissive wave. "How's Ali?"

"What's wrong with Ali?" Harmony wondered, somewhat in and out of sleep. Athena gave a rueful smile, running her fingers through her muted red hair.

"She was running a fever all through dinner; that's why I wasn't there." The former queen explained to the redheaded teen, before looking back at Coral. "But she's doing fine now. It was just a little thing; no harm done."

"Great. So…um…Harmony, are we going to go back, or what? I'm kind of tired." Coral asked, giving a yawn for effect. Harmony blinked once, a bit surprised at the question, before asking one of her own.

"Your folks are letting you go back?"

"Eh. At this point, I really don't care whether they let me or not. I just wanna go to sleep." The mermaid girl said with shrug, before turning to her grandmother. "Goodnight Grandmother. I'll see you…Thursday, I guess." And with that, and a simple tug on her bracelet, Coral was gone. Harmony gave a sheepish look to Athena's raised brows, before quickly saying her own goodnight and leaving too.


	129. There are Three Sides to Every Story

"Ow! Mom, that hurts!" Harmony whined, as Ariel pressed an ice pack against the girl's bruised forehead with one hand, and with the other pressed another ice pack to John's black eye. Coral was applying band aids to the various scrapes around her body, wincing every now and then as she felt the sting of the cut.

"Please, explain to me again how two seventeen year olds, and a sixteen year old managed to get as bruised and scraped as seven and six year olds." Ariel said in response, as John gave a yelp of pain when the ice finally hit his black eye. Letting her hands fall away from the teenager's faces, but still having them hold up the ice packs, Ariel turned her attention to her niece, before sighing and taking the girl's arm so that she could bandage it properly.

"Well…it was all Harmony's fault!" John said firstly, pointing an accusing finger at his girlfriend, who gave a rather indignant gasp and looked as though she was mock-angry.

"_My_ fault?" The girl repeated indignantly. "_You_ were the one who threw a dodge ball at me!" Harmony cried out, pointing an accusing finger right back at John for his words.

"It's called dodge ball! You're supposed to dodge the ball!" Jonathan shot right back at the girl, who looked as though she wouldn't mind reaching over and snapping her boyfriend's neck.

"Yeah, you're supposed to dodge the ball! Not use me as a human shield!" Coral cried out, taking her turn at blaming her cousin for this injustice against her. Ariel gave a sigh at the bickering teens, before looking at all of them at the same time.

"From the top, please, someone explain what happened." Ariel said, already feeling a headache coming on as she tried to deal with three teenagers. She let her fingers brush through Coral's now shortened brunette hair with a barely audible sigh to herself, before turning her thoughts again on the teens.

"Okay so, we were in P.E., and we were playing dodge ball, girls against boys." Harmony started it off, as Ariel made a sound, as if to tell the teen that she was listening to her. "And then out of nowhere, John threw the dodge ball at me, and I got hit in the head! And as if that wasn't bad enough, Coral pelted me with a ball too, even though I was on her team!" Harmony cried out the injustice of the situation, painting herself as a victim of a horrendous game against her. Ariel turned towards John, with raised brows, wondering why on earth he'd hit her daughter.

"Okay, first, I wasn't aiming for her head; I was aiming for her legs. My shot just got a little screwy." John defended himself to Ariel, hoping the Queen would see his side in all of this. He loved his girlfriend, he really did…but if given the chance to throw a dodge ball at her…eh, why not? It would be payback for her making his hand into an icicle that day of the formal dinner. "And second, after the ball hit her, she grabbed another ball, lit it on fire, and threw it at me! Thankfully, the fire went out before it hit me, but that ball still hit me!" Jonathan spoke his side of the story, also painting himself as the victim in all of this.

"Mhm hm." Ariel made a sound to prod the teenagers along, as she took the icepack off of John's eye for a moment, before frowning and forcing him to put it back on his eye. Maybe that would keep the swelling down, because honestly, it was starting to really look bad. Harmony had truly done a number on him.

"And then what happened?" Ariel asked again, prodding the teens along once more to get them to start speaking their story on how they were all bruised and scraped, as though they'd come from a battlefield. Was high school truly this bad, or was it just that the teenagers she tried to keep under control were impossibly difficult for Ariel to keep up with. Probably both, the woman reasoned mentally, for she knew that if she said it out loud the teens would grow…well, all teenager, and that's not really what the mother wanted at this exact moment.

"And then it was an all out war between the two of them!" Coral piped up to her Aunt Ariel, who's brows went so high they were covered by her red bangs. Coral's new haircut had been…quite a shock, to say the very least, but the girl promised that her parents were fine with it (though Ariel knew that had to be a lie), so the Shireland Queen could do nothing but bear with it. Teenagers, the woman thought ruefully. "

"I mean, they were throwing dodge balls like crazy at each other, and Harmony kept missing John, and John kept hitting Harmony, so the little witch decided that instead of using her powers to create a force field thingy to stop the dodge balls from hitting her, she'd use me! Me, Aunt Ariel! Your favorite niece, pelted by dodge balls, and not to mention the fact that Harmony kept tripping and bringing me down with her in the process! She's evil Aunt Ariel, truly and completely evil!" Coral cried out her side of the story, herself obviously the victim of a vicious and unprepared attack.

"I see." Ariel said with her brows still raised. Though sixteen and seventeen and seventeen, all the teenagers acted as though they were ten years younger! It was only Wednesday and this had happened; Poseidon only knew what the other two days of the week held! "Well, the way I see it, all of you are to blame for hurting each other, and you all got your revenge, so go and wash up for dinner."  
"But Mo-Aunt Ari-Ariel!" The teenager's voices all mixed with one another as they whined simultaneously that they were all injured from one another, and therefore the others should be punished. But Ariel would have nothing of it.

"That wasn't a request." Ariel said with her arms crossed against her chest, staring down the three teens all at once. How were mothers able to do that, the teens wondered in slight awe and indignant thoughts.

"Yes ma'am." Coral, John, and Harmony grumbled at the same time, getting up from their single chairs and heading for their own rooms to wash up for dinner. By chance, Eric slipped into the entrance hall just as the teenagers were grumbling and leaving. With raised black brows, he looked towards his wife, a bit mystified.

"What was _that_ all about?" Eric wondered for a moment, looking to his wife for an answer to his question. But Ariel only shook her head, grimacing slightly as she rubbed her temples and tried to rid herself of her headache.

"You don't want to know."

* * *

**After so many serious chapters, I thought a nice, filler, funny chapter would ease up the story a little. What do you guys think?**


	130. Crazy Dreams

"This party sucks." It was a simple voice that made all the teenager's turn their heads in the direction of the girl. Myra, who was turning (officially, and not just trying to pass it off) fifteen, gave a sigh, crossing her arms over her shells and hanging near her cousins, and the other teenagers. Stephen and Cori gave a shrug as a way of apologizing to the girl, Coral ignored her cousin all together, John rolled his eyes at the kid, and Harmony debated leaving early from this funeral of a party. For such a lively merperson family, Harmony mused, they really did know how to throw a horrible party.

"It's not that bad dear." Aquata reasoned with her fifteen year old daughter, who gave a grumbled few words in response. It really _was_ that bad though, Harmony mused in her mind. Sure there were party decorations, a cake that had yet to be cut, refreshments, cousins swimming around and playing with one another, a few of Myra's school friends who were huddled in a group together probably talking about school, Adults also in groups talking…but that was it. The party was dead; everyone doing their own thing, and not really paying attention to anything else.

"Your mother's right Myra." Ariel said gently to her niece. "It's actually pretty nice, if you…" Ariel's voice started growing fainter, and fainter, as Myra realized something. How could she have not seen it before? The hottest band in all of Atlantica…was at her party!

"You guys have to perform! You have to! I mean, you're the most famous band in all of Atlantica! Oh please, please, please, please, please!" Myra begged, startling her Aunts and mother as she looked at the teens with pleading in her eyes.

"Let me think…um…no." Those were Harmony's exact words, not five minutes ago. So then why was she now, on the stage, sighing and wondering how come it had to be her?

"Do Crazy Dreams! That's my favorite!" Myra said, practically breathing from how close she was to the stage. She never got to be this close when she was in the club! By this time, everyone had gathered around, most of the children excited, and the adults amused by the lack of enthusiasm coming from the band, as they prepared themselves for a song.

"Guys? Crazy Dreams?" Harmony questioned her band. Coral gave a shrug, not caring either way. Cori flipped his drumstick in his hand, before catching it neatly and grinning at Harmony and nodding. Stephen tuned up his base guitar, and gave a grimace to Harmony at having to be here, before sighing and nodding.

"Alright kiddo. One song, and then we're outa here, 'k?" Harmony told her cousin, adjusting her microphone slightly in her left hand. She sang in front of a hundred (or more) people weekend nights…so why was doing this in front of her family suddenly giving her stage fright? Myra nodded enthusiastically, practically bouncing from joy, as Harmony sighed, and looked back at her band. Cori got the message immediately, and pounded into his drums.

"1…2…3!" And then, suddenly, they were off. Harmony's stage fright was gone, replaced by sudden thrill at hearing the music. Her carefree laughed echoed across the room, as she swayed her hips left and right, letting her frustrations and fears fall away with the rest of the world.

"_Hello you long shots  
You dark horse runners  
Hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers  
Hello you wild sea flowers  
Just waiting to bloom_

The stage fright disappeared from the girl, as she let her voice grow stronger, and let the music envelope her.

_There's a little bit of all that inside of me and you  
Thank Neptune even crazy dreams come true_

Harmony's carefree laugh echoed again through the room, as she let the music intertwine with her free soul.

_I stood at the bottom of some walls I thought I couldn't climb  
I felt like the pressure was all on, an' I was runnin' outa time_

Harmony could feel it; the pressure, the helplessness...the hurt.

_So I know how it feels to be afraid  
Think that it's all gonna slip away  
Hold on, hold on_

Yes, she had to hold on, for herself, for her life...for everything she held dear.

_Here's to you free souls, you jellyfish chasers  
Kid climbers, playground swingers, air guitar players  
Here's to you fearless dancers, shaking walls in your bedrooms_

Harmony let herself laugh again, swaying her hips left and right with a spectacular smile.

There's a lot of wonder left inside of me and you  
Thank Neptune even crazy dreams come true

Ariel watched in amazement as her daughter gave herself up to the music, and freely sang, her beautiful, seldom heard singing voice (for Ariel, at least) almost too perfect.

Never let a bad day be enough  
To go and talk you in to giving up  
Sometimes everybody feels like you  
Oh, feels like you, just like you  
Yeah

Harmony let herself hit a high note, and hold that note for longer than should be possible. Her melodic voice was just…too great.

_I've met some go-getters  
Some difference makers  
Small town heroes, and big chance takers  
I've met some young hearts with something to prove  
Oh, yeah  
_

At 'young hearts' Harmony looked over at John, her red hair curtaining her face slightly. He was holding up his phone, as though video taping Harmony, but when he caught sight of her looking at him, he went cross eyed, making Harmony laugh.

_Here's to you long shots  
You dark horse runners  
Hairbrush singers, and dashboard drummers  
Here's to you wild sea flowers  
Just waiting to bloom  
_

The family didn't know what to make of Harmony…to make of her band. The young children who weren't aloud to go to the club yet were enchanted by the band, and the Adults…they were…they were…simply put, amazed.

_There's a little bit of all that inside of me and you  
Thank Neptune even crazy dreams come true  
Thank Neptune even _**crazy dreams**_ come true  
Yeah _

Harmony laughed again, carefree and bubbly, as she tilted her head backwards, a sign for her band to take it from there. And they did. Coral let her fingers slide over her guitar, her eyes alight with happiness as she heard her solo, Cori pounded on the drums, letting the beat sound like his racing heart, and Stephen…well, Stephen just played that bass as though it was nothing.

And as suddenly as the song had come on, it came off. Everyone stood stock still, unable to move, unable to cheer for the teenagers whom, until now, most of them hadn't known had such a talent. The moment the Cori, Coral, and Harmony set down their instruments, or what they used for their instruments, they were bombarded by hugs.

"Mo-om! Stop it! Let go of me!" Harmony's voice was the first to cry out loud, breaking the dam, and letting the babble of voices from the girl's own family start to come forth. Ariel had her daughter tightly wrapped in her arms, as the woman kissed her head, and squeezed the girl who tried to escape.

"Oh hush and let me be a mother." Ariel chastised, gently, as she swallowed back her tears. It was just…she'd never known what it was like for Harmony to perform. All these years, she'd never known that when the girl sang, she could move people to tears. That when she sang, she let the music envelope her, and she let herself become free, if only for a few minutes.

"Mother! I'm too old for this!" Cori whined, as he felt the crushing weight of his mother squeezing him and his sister together in a hug. Attina was in all rights…shocked. She'd always thought her children were special; what mother didn't? But she'd never known how truly special they were until now.

"You were wonderful up their Coral." Those were the first words Attina had spoken to her daughter since their complete blow out fight on Tuesday, when the idiotic girl had gone and cut off her hair. She felt Coral stiffen in her arms for a moment, as if thinking through her mother's words, before the girl managed, somehow, to push herself away from Attina.

"Yeah, whatever." Coral said, her green eyes searching for Harmony so that she could get away from her mother. After what she had said on Tuesday…Coral still didn't feel like talking to the woman, who'd been giving her the silent treatment ever since that fight. Suddenly though, the girl's ears perked up.

"You guys hear that?" The sixteen year old wondered, as she could hear, faintly a low rumbling. Harmony, who was using John as a sort of shield against her mother so that she wasn't hugged anymore, and Cori who had also managed to escape his mother's hug, both turned their heads, their brows furrowing…until there was a voice behind them.

"If ya'll are lookin' for me, your facin' the wrong way." Emma noted, with a smirk as she looked directly at her friends, and not the incessant chatter from her friends family.

"What's up?" Harmony wondered, knowing her friend wouldn't have just come to Atlantica, at this time, for nothing. Emma, who had been smirking still at her friends, suddenly broke out into a grin, her eyes alighting with mischief.

"You know Joey Greenburg? The Junior? He made this wicked ramp, and he's going to fly on his motorcycle over like, three cars in the junkyard! It's gonna be awesome!" The girl said, the brightness in her tone, as she looked over at Harmony, Coral, and John. "You guys _have_ to come! It's gonna be in like, ten minutes!"

"Are you serious? He's actually gonna try it?" John asked, excitement already bubbling in his tone, and when Emma nodded, he broke out into a teenage smile. "Awesome! Dude, that's gonna be _epic_!"

"_Three_ cars?" Coral gasped, her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth hanging open in a half grin, half just plain shock. "I've gotta see this. There's no way he can clear all of them!"  
"Oh man, this'll be great!" Harmony said, her blue eyes shining with glee at seeing something like this. "Mom, can we go? Pleeaassee?" Harmony begged, the excitement in her eyes hard to miss.

"Yeah Mom, can I go?" Coral asked, apparently forgetting all about ignoring her mother and begging the woman for a chance to see something this epic. Ariel let her gaze go towards the stage that her daughter had just finished performing on.

"But you were…" Ariel trailed off, biting her lip as she looked back at her daughter from the stage, and sighed, her shoulders slumping. She knew that look. She'd seen it in herself as a teenager, wanting to go out, have fun. "Fine. Go. Be back by eleven." Ariel said with a defeated sigh, and numbly beside her, she could hear Attina mutter her permission to let Coral go too. The teens whooped in joy, before, in a flash, they were gone.

"Mom, I'm going to Stephens to um, study." Cori called from halfway across the room, already swimming out with his friend to go to a party that the boy knew of. And then, just like that, the feelings of pride, and happiness at their children's gifts…were gone. It was replaced by a melancholy, lost feeling as the women realized that no matter how much they hugged their children tightly…they were starting to go out into the world, and were becoming young adults…and there wasn't thing they could do about it.

"Teenagers?" Attina asked her younger sister for a moment, a thin, humorless smile on her pretty features. Ariel looked at the spot where her daughter had just disappeared, and shook her head, smiling the same smile.

"Teenagers." She answered, before linking arms with her sister and swimming back to her family to catch up on everything she'd been missing since her last visit to Atlantica. Still, there was that empty feeling inside of her at the thought of her daughter…her very last baby…was, as Eric would say, going to leave the nest.

* * *

**Sorry for the uber slow update! The song in this chapter is called 'Crazy Dreams' by Carrie Underwood. I thought it was really nice, and it sounded like Harmony, soo...:D Tell me what you thought. **

**Anyway, yestereday I picked the mangoes off of the tree in my backyard, and then guess what happened a few hours later? I broke out into a freaking itchy rash! Aparently, mango sap has the same stuff in it that poision ivy has, so now I'm going to be itchy for the rest of summer! It's awful! Stupid mango tree...! **

**So is anyone watching this season of the Bachelorette? For some reason, I got into it this year...it's really starting to turn out good...I hope she picks my favorite, Roberto! He's so cute, and sweet! I3 him! **

**Anyway, to wrap up this rambling, review, yadda yadda, evil bunnies with cookies, yadda yadda, decapitated heads, yadda yadda, so review! **


	131. Don't Wanna Let Go

"Eric?" A melodic voice fell through the master chamber of the caste, the owner of said voice sitting up in the rather large bed she shared with her husband.

"Hm?" Eric wondered, pulling on a pair of sleeping pants, and not really paying attention to his wife. Ariel gave a sigh, hugging her knees that were covered in the sheets already, up to her chest. Tomorrow morning, the Westland royal family would be coming, and Ariel knew that she wouldn't have a peaceful moment for her and her husband for awhile once they did. So for now, Thursday night, the woman was relaxing...somewhat. Not really, considering the thoughts running around in her head, and making her heart hurt.

"Do you think I've been a good mother?" Once upon a time, about seventeen or so years ago, Ariel had wondered aloud the same question to her husband. Except there was one difference between then and now. Then, Ariel had asked if she _would_ be a good mother…and now she was wondering if she _had _been. It was a rather odd feeling, knowing that all those years ago she'd been so terrified about having a child…and now she was so terrified of letting that child go.

"Of course darling." Eric answered, more or less saying so to appease his wife as he ran his hand through his midnight black hair that one of his daughters had inherited. "Why do you ask?" The King wondered for a moment, looking at his complexion in the mirror.

"Because…good mothers are supposed to let their children go, fly away from the nest, as humans say…but…I…I don't _want_ to." Ariel admitted, biting on her pinky nail. Though she'd chastised her daughters hundreds of times over and over not to bite their nails…Ariel couldn't quite rid herself of the habit. "With Melody, I had to let go of her early…I had no other choice. And at the time, I was, and still am alright with that. But Harmony…I mean…is it wrong that I don't want her to go?" Ariel wondered still, moving on from her pinky to her wedding ring finger. Eric raised a black brow, looking at his wife through the mirror.

"What brought _that_ on?" Eric wondered, with a still raised brow. "I thought you wanted Harmony to get married." Ariel gave a sigh, looking away from her husband in the mirror and instead staring at the closed curtains that covered the French doors that lead to the balcony.

"I did…until, well, today." Ariel started, shaking her head and starting to frown, as she looked back at her husband. "Apparently, that band Coral, Harmony, Cori, and that other boy are all in, the band that plays at the club on weekends…is, according to almost every teen, the hottest band in Atlantica at the moment. And, I think for maybe the first time, I heard them play—Myra, you know, Aquata's daughter, the one who was turning fifteen, begged them to do so—and Eric, Harmony was…Harmony was…amazing. It was like…it was like she let the music take control of her, and she was, in harmony with it. I mean…it was just so _beautiful_ Eric, I wish you could have seen it!" Ariel's tone was wishful, and her smile, other worldly, as she tried to describe her daughter's performance to her husband.

"All I wanted to do afterwards was just hold her close, just hug her, kiss her, like I used to be able to do when she was a baby." Ariel's tone was starting to wind down from wishful, as her eyes slowly started becoming detached. "But then…then there was some teenage thing going on in Nebraska, and she left. I felt so…I felt so…I don't know. I just…I didn't want to let her go." Ariel's hurt voice fell through the master chamber, fingering the small gold bracelet on her right hand.

There were only two charms on the bracelet, both of them hearts, and Ariel let her fingers fall over one of the hearts blindly. Eric had given the simple bracelet to her a few days after the Queen had given birth to their daughters. The girls' names were engraved onto the hearts, but the one that said 'Harmony' was the one that Ariel let her thumb and forefinger fall over as her thoughts were focused on that daughter.

"Am I bad mother for wanting to just hug her close, and never let her go out into the world?" Ariel asked, mostly herself quietly, as she hugged her knees closer to her chest like a teenager, and stare at the opposite wall. She hardly noticed it went Eric slipped into bed, and wrapped an arm around her petite frame.

"Just because you don't want our daughter to spread her wings and take flight, doesn't mean you're a bad mother Ariel. I don't want Harmony to leave anymore than you do, and I don't particularly think I'm a bad father." Eric's comforting voice said gently to his wife, leaning down to press a loving kiss on her head, and then rest his chin on it. Ariel gave a sigh, letting her shoulders drop.

"But that's just it. You're a _father_ Eric." The redhead argued, moving her head away from Eric so that she could look at him. "You're supposed to be overprotective, and not want her to walk down that aisle because it would mean she's no longer your little girl. But I'm a mother. I'm supposed to be more understanding, and cry at her wedding because she looks so beautiful. I'm not supposed to want to hold her back, to just _wish_ that I could turn back time seventeen years ago, when she was just a baby, and keep her at that age." Exasperation filled Ariel's tone at this, as she realized that her husband didn't understand what she was meaning. Eric did understand though; that was the problem, and the reason why he had one eyebrow raised high.

"First, I'm not overprotective. I'm just looking out for Harmony's best interest, and if that means I have to break every bone in Jonathan's body, then so be it." Eric seemed cheerful at that, Ariel realized, with a wry grin. "And second, _who _said that's supposed to happen Ariel? That you're not allowed to feel hurt that our daughter is almost all grown up and that I have to not-want-to walk her down the aisle?" An exasperated sigh left Ariel at that, which didn't seem to be a good sign for Eric.

"Life, Eric!" The redhead's exasperated tone said. "That's just how life is supposed to go! I'm supposed to send her off without qualms, and you're supposed to not-want-to walk her down the aisle! That's the way it's supposed to be! It just…_is_!" Ariel's voice almost shouted, looking at her husband with an exasperated expression. Didn't he know that's what's supposed to happen? That's what always happens; the storybook ending!

"But what if the storybooks are wrong Ariel?" Eric asked quietly and calmly to his wife's shouts, as though he possessed the ability to read his wife's mind and to know that only seconds before that thought had passed through her head. "Think about it for a moment darling. It's always supposed to be, the human Prince falls in love and marries the human Princess. When have you ever seen _our_ story in those books, where the mermaid Princess saves the Prince from drowning, falls in love with him—or maybe she fell in love with him _before_ she saved him from drowning, you know, he really was a quite attractive Prince—she trades her voice to an evil sea witch just to have legs and to have the Prince kiss her…and then the stupid Prince goes off, get's himself put under a spell by the sea witch, nearly marries her, finds out he's in love with the mermaid Princess, nearly loses her, destroys the evil sea bitch—whoops, that slipped out—the mermaid Princess's father turns her into a human, and the new human Princess and still human Prince marry, and ride off into the sunset waving and smiling. Oh, and by the way, they have two daughters. They named one Erica, the other, Ericina." Eric finished the tale with a grin, though it most definitely had not started out that way. By this time, even Ariel couldn't help but smile, as she moved her body so that her head rested on her husband chest and she could look up at him with a wary smile.

"Erica and Ericina?" Ariel's wary voice asked, with a hint of amusement in it as her husband grinned down at her with a crooked smile and a wink.

"Fine. Both can be named Eric Jr." Eric compromised with a still crooked smile on his features

"I thought you said they were both girls."

"They are girls. They'll just have boy names." Eric explained with that grin of his too cocky and crooked for his own good, or so Ariel was concerned as she saw her husband wink at her again. "I don't mind if you don't." The redhead couldn't keep it in anymore; she started to laugh…and laugh…and laugh, until there were tears in her eyes. When finally, she'd gotten a hold of her giggles, she gave a contented sigh, burying her face in her husband's bare muscle-y chest.

"You always know how to make me feel better." Ariel murmured, her voice muffled by the fact it was buried in Eric's chest. She felt his chest rumble with chuckles, as he ran his fingers through her bright hair. And then…then she felt him sigh, but it didn't seem to be a contented sigh like she herself had done just a few seconds before.

"Just because we're not the perfect storybook family Ariel, doesn't mean that there's something wrong with us because we feel…well, because we don't want our baby girl to grow up and spread her wings just yet." Eric's soft voice said, resting his hand on the small of his wife's back. "We've been good parents Ariel…at least, I think we've been. We've certainly tried our hardest." There was a slight frown on Eric's features, as his wife looked up at him with a frown of her own.

"I guess." Was all Ariel could say, sighing herself and chewing off the rest of her ring finger nail. Dang it, she cursed mentally. That was her last, perfectly manicured nail. If her daughter caught sight of what she'd done to her nails, then the girl would take it as a free chance to do it to her own. Wasn't it bad enough that she'd cut off her long red hair, now she'd bite off all her nails, and then what would Ariel be left to work with when she had to get the girl ready for her wedding?

"How was the rest of your time in Atlantica?" Eric wondered, changing subjects purposefully so that his wife could feel more comfortable. And when his wife looked up at him in appreciation for gracefully changing subjects, it made him feel like it was the right decision. Though thoughts still lingered in his mind about what she'd said, he knew that this subject wasn't the greatest to talk about at the moment. They would just have to try and deal with losing another one of their daughter's to marriage.

* * *

**Orginally for this story, I was only going to have Eric feel hurt that one of his daughters is going to leave and get married...but then I decided to include Ariel too, because, after all, it's got to be hard for Mom's to lose their kids to marriage too, right? I mean, there must be a reason why they always cry at weddings...tell me what you think! **


	132. THe Last Senior Football Game

"Hi ya'll." Harmony said rather perkily, appearing out of nowhere in the sitting room the royal families from Westland and Shireland had gathered to catch up on things. She was wearing a pair of short shorts, but they were covered by rather large dark blue sweatshirt that had, in faded red lettering, _Wildcats_, written on it. Her red hair was still damp from her bath, and her Converse were in bad shape as always, but that didn't stop her eyes from shining behind her glasses.

"Hi honey." Ariel's voice rang out, her eyes trailing to the form of her daughter's clothes, before she sighed, shook her head, and gave a wary grin. That girl would never change, no matter how many times the mother tried to make her. Besides, why would she want to chastise her daughter, when she knew that soon she'd lose the girl to marriage? No, it was better to spend as much good times with the girl now, before she was married so that Ariel could look back on it. Like, tonight, for example. Harmony would spend the night in, talking to both families, and later when the girl was fast asleep, Ariel would tuck her in just like a little child. It was an ideal plan.

"Harmony!" Melody was the first to gasp, making her sister turn her head in slight confusion as to why Melody—and the Westland royal family—were here, for a moment, before shrugging it off. Maybe they were just visiting to see how her and John were getting along, or to catch up on stuff. Besides that, Harmony couldn't think of a reason that they would be here. The girl's train of thought was suddenly interrupted though, when she heard Melody's voice break through again. "Mother had said you cut your hair…but I didn't think…" The raven haired beauty trailed off, not wanting to say out loud what she was thinking, but also letting her eyes convey the meaning.

"Wow, you didn't think? There's a real shocker." Harmony said with slight sarcasm, annoyed by the fuss being put up about her hair. First her mother, than her Aunts, and finally her (biological) twin sister…it was just hair! Why did people need to be so shocked by it?

"Harmony." Eric's warning voice said evenly to the girl, making the redhead roll her eyes, but refrain from anymore comments about her sister's IQ. She knew that tone from her father usually meant business, and tonight, she didn't feel like being grounded for making a few comments about her sister.

"Anyway," Margaret said, clearing the tense air that had settled into the sitting room. But that's what mothers were for. "Besides from your new er, hair cut, how have you been dear? Has Jonathan done anything to you that I don't know of?" The second question was underlined with a demanding tone, because Margaret knew full well that her son wouldn't specify anything to his mother in his letters.

"I've been cool." Harmony answered half heartedly, not really thinking of Margaret's questions as she wondered when her boyfriend and cousin would come out.

"And Jonathan?" Leroy prodded the teen, hoping for an answer from the girl. In her own strange way, Harmony was sweet. Well, perhaps 'sweet' wasn't the best adjective to use for the girl, but she was definitely something along those lines.

"John?" Harmony questioned, but more to herself before perking up. "He gave me a bruise two days ago. See?" Harmony said, lifting up her flat bangs so that the Westland royals could see the damage. Unlike her mother and sister's bangs that fell over their foreheads, Harmony's were straight across, mostly to hide the scars that were on her forehead alone. "He attacked me with dodge ball for no reason whatsoever, and now I've got this bruise." The girl was doing this on purpose, showing off her bruise to the boy's mother, to sort of throw her boyfriend under the bus for pelting her with dodge balls. Both Margaret and Leroy made noises in disapproval, immediately knowing that upon seeing their son they would be grounding him for his insensitivity.

"Ohmygod, for the last time, it's called, Dodge. Ball. You're supposed to dodge _the ball_." John's voice came out of nowhere it seemed, but the boy suddenly appeared next to Harmony, his eyes slightly annoyed, but there was more mischief in them than anything. His faded t-shirt, and khaki cargo shorts really did make him seem much hotter than usual. Or maybe it was his baseball cap that was placed backwards on his head, making strands of his long brunette hair fall over his eyes in just that way…stop it, the girl quickly chastised herself.

"Yeah, and it's also called hand-eye-coordination. And I ain't got it!" Harmony said, waving a hand in front of her face as though to prove her point to her boyfriend that this hand-eye-coordination thing didn't really work out.

"She's not lying. She really _doesn't_ have any hand-eye-coordination." Coral's voice called with a laugh, appearing by her cousin's side with a lopsided grin to Harmony's scowl. It was alright when the girl made fun of herself, but when Coral did it it was just rude.

"For sure." John said with an easy laugh directed right at his girlfriend. Harmony scowled harder in response at her cousin, who was now laughing with her boyfriend at her.

"Ya know what, Coral? Go jump off a cliff." Harmony's sarcastic voice replied, before placing both her hands on her hips with a slight attitude in her eyes. John merely laughed again, grinning as he looked at Harmony.

"She can't jump off a cliff because that's what _Melody_ is going to do. Then we're going to push Lance in after her. Don't cha pay any attention during lunch period?" John asked Harmony, who immediately cracked a grin at the joke, despite Lance's groan.

"A month with each other and you would think they would spend the time doing something other than thinking about how to kill me and my wife." Lance muttered under his breath, before pleadingly looking up at his parents. "Can't you do something?"

"Jonathan, that wasn't nice." Leroy's voice admonished his son, making Lance look up in wonder and incredulousness. Seriously? That's all they were going to do? Just let him off with 'not nice', after the boy admitted to thinking of ways to kill him and his wife.

"That's all your going to—" Lance's complaining voice rang out, cutting off when another voice interrupted.

"Hush Lance." Margaret said to her oldest son, cutting him off mid sentence. "We haven't seen your brother for almost a month, and I'm not going to let you two start fighting over something so silly."

"How is—but he just—" Lance cut off in midsentence, as he felt Melody's hand wrap around his own and squeeze it gently, as though saying to stop what he was doing, because already she had a plan on how to get back at her sister forming in her mind. Slightly exasperation, and not at all liking the triumphant smirk on John's features, Lance gave a sigh and muttered out an oath beneath his breath.

"Sit here Harm. We've barely seen you all day." Eric said, hoping his daughter would join him and his wife on the couch. But Harmony merely gave her parents a shrug, and shook her head.

"No thanks Dad." The girl said, in her normal Princess Harmony voice, instead of country girl Kathy voice. "We have to leave now anyway." Harmony's indifferent voice struck a chord through Ariel, as she looked up at her daughter in surprise. The moment Harmony had come home, she'd shut herself up in her room, probably sketching, so therefore she hadn't seen the Westland royals until now. Jonathan had been ambushed by his parents when he'd arrived home from school, and Coral had been ambushed by Melody who had moaned and groaned about the girl's new haircut.

"Leave?" Ariel heard her voice ask, though she had no recollection of ever telling her brain to do such a thing. The smile froze on her face like an icicle, as she tried to hide the hurt in her eyes.

"Where are you going?" Leroy asked the girl, before looking up and down the other two teenagers beside her and wondering if they would be going to this place with her. They certainly were dressed for it, if it was a place in the girl's other world…

"To the school football game, Father." John said in surprise, blinking as though his father should know this.

"The school…football game?" Eric questioned, wary as to what this was and why Harmony and John were going to it.

"It's the last one of the entire _year_ Uncle Eric. Not to mention it's the last one we'll ever see as high school seniors." Coral explained innocently to her Uncle, blinking with her big green eyes that were the same as her mother's. Her mother…they had somewhat, in a strange way, made up. It was still slightly awkward at the dinner she had in Atlantica tonight with her mother, but the girl knew that would disappear soon. Hopefully.

"Couldn't you just…stay here, instead?" Margaret questioned her son softly, hoping that his answer was yes and that he would stay. She hadn't seen the boy in a full month…really, it was hard not to see him for just a month…the woman wondered what it would be like when he was married.

"No way! We're up against Lincoln, so it's gonna be a good game." John was oblivious, as was Coral and Harmony, to his parent's desperation for him to just stay in for the night, and talk with them instead of going off.

"Yeah, it'll be awesome!" Harmony chimed in, grinning fully at just the thought. "My very last football game as a senior…I never thought this day would come! I'm so pumped!" Harmony said excitedly…before noticing her parent's looks. "But…I guess I could skip it. I mean, it's just a game…I won't die or anything." The girl's deflated look said all, though she tried to keep herself happy by weakly smiling at her parents, who in turn, sighed and exchanged looks with one another.

"If it means that much to you, than go." Eric encouraged, putting on a bravado to make it seem that it was alright with him. "Your mother and I will be fine."

"You mean it? Like, really?" Harmony asked, breathless with excitement. If her parents said she could go, and that they would be fine alone, then the girl was off the hook! Yes! She could go!

"Really." Ariel said, weakly smiling at her daughter. "Have fun, all of you, and be back by eleven." Ariel spoke for herself, her husband, Margaret, and Leroy, though her tone was slightly off, not that Harmony noticed at all.

"Thanks Mom!" Harmony's still excited voice said. "Well, see ya'll!" The girl said happily, and immediately after, disappeared from this world and into her other one. John and Coral shot grins at the parents as their thanks, before quickly following Harmony's suit and exiting this world. Ariel and Eric's weak smiles faded off, and in their place, a look that only a parent who was watching their child leave the nest could have.

* * *

**Well readers, another chapter, or so it seems. And guess what? Thanks to benedryl, i'm only half awake, so i'm going to post this, then go to sleep! Ugh. Aparently, I'm having an allergic reaction to that mango sap stuff, and now not only do I have itchy little bumps that look like mosquito bites on my arm, I also have a face that is so red, I refuse to be seen in public. I think my nose could put Rudolph's to shame! Gr. I now, officially, hate mangoes. I am starting a 'I hate mangoes' campaign; who's with me? Stupid mango sap...**

**Anyway, review, yadda yadda, and goodnight!**


	133. Not Quite Ready

"Harmony, there you are!" Ariel cried out, upon finally finding her daughter. The girl was laying on her stomach, a Sharpie in her hand and a thick book open to a half filled page of written words. "I've been looking all over for you! Really, is it so hard for you to stay in one place? Now come on; there are _still_ last minute measurements that have to be taken for your dress, and then there's about a million more things you have to check on!" Ariel's admonishing, and also near frantic voice made her daughter blink, looking upwards in confusion for a moment, not understanding her mother's words.

"Wait a minute, what dress Mom?" Harmony asked in a bewildered voice, her blue eyes wary behind her thick glasses. Looking over Coral and John, the girl posed a question. "Do you guys know what dress? Or what the hell I still need to check on?" Harmony wondered, faintly dismissive of her mother as though thinking the woman had just gone insane.

"Beats me." John said with a shrug, continuing to throw a tennis ball into the air, and then catch it easily in his hand. Lying down on the couch with his left hand beneath his head, no one would dare call him stressed. His ripped, baggy jeans, faded tee shirt, baseball cap and worn-down-black Nike's made him seem like an all-American-boy, though in reality he was the Prince of a country.

"Idk either." Coral said too in response, not really listening but still offering her opinion. Her short brunette hair messy as she was sitting upside down on the same couch John was on. Wearing a pair of her cousin's sweatpants that were just a bit too long on her, and a snug tee shirt of her own, she looked every bit American and human as her cousin and her cousin's boyfriend, who was now one of her friends.

"Maybe Ice Queen lost some more screws." Emma offered dryly as a joke, sitting up next to Harmony on the floor, and using her knees as a sort of desk so that she could sign her friend's yearbook. Her curly blonde hair, was, as usual, pulled back into it's short ponytail, as the girl bit on the cap of the Sharpie she was using.

"Coral, honey, sit up before you hurt yourself." Ariel's voice rang out first to her niece, upon realizing the girl's upside-down posture on the couch. The teenager merely rolled her eyes in response, but did do as her Aunt said to avoid an argument. "And Harmony, _come on_. We've already wasted precious time!" Ariel chirped, grabbing her daughter's elbow and forcing the girl to sit up. Harmony would have stood, if it weren't for the fact that she wrenched her arm away from her mother.

"Huh?" The girl asked, still blatantly confused by all of this.

"Ariel have you—oh! Good, you found them!" Margaret's voice said with relief, as she caught sight of her son and her pretty soon to be daughter-in-law. But when she caught sight of her son's wary expression, but still relaxed position on the couch, all that changed. "Jonathan! What are you doing? There's still colors to choose, people to meet, things to see, and your just lying here?" Margaret wondered, pushing back her blonde hair in annoyance.

"That's what she said." Emma threw out for a moment, an off laugh coming from her. Both John and Coral offered smirks in response, and Harmony cracked a grin, which she threw in her friend's direction. But Margaret and Ariel were less than amused.

"Naw, that's what _you_ said." John shot back at Emma with a wry grin, as the girl stuck her tongue out at him. All the teenagers laughed then, feeling more at ease, though the three women in front of them were anything but.

"We don't have time for these silly little games, you two." Ariel reminded, trying to stress the importance out of all of this. She may not want to lose her daughter, but she'd be damned if she let another wedding go to waste! Not after how hard she worked!

"Ariel is right." Margaret agreed, letting her piercing ice blue eyes travel towards her son. "I mean, it's already Sunday! Yesterday you two were gone nearly all day, and tomorrow, well, I mean, tomorrow is the big day so we can't really do anything that last minute, which means it all has to be done now, so let's _go_." The woman stressed, pulling her son up into a sitting position, and tsking to herself at his clothing.

"Oh right! I almost forgot!" Coral quickly caught onto what her Aunt had been saying. Emma blinked in confusion, about to open her mouth to ask if Ice Queen and her friend had some weird disease that spread to Coral, before it dawned on the girl too what tomorrow was. And Harmony caught on then too…or at least, she caught on to an idea. Though, it wasn't necessarily the correct one.

"Ooh, you mean graduation, don't you?" The girl said, all of this starting to piece together in her mind. "I was wondering why." Harmony said with a short laugh to herself, before looking at John who gave a sound as though he realized what the mothers had been talking about.

"Okay, now I get it." John said, a laugh coming from him too…before he felt his mother keep tugging at him to get him to sit up. "But seriously, all of this craziness is because of graduation? Mother, that's ridiculous." John said with a snort, pulling himself away from his mother.

"Yeah Mom. Why would you freak out because of graduation? I mean, it's just a stupid thing, no one is even going, just us students." Harmony forced herself to keep her tone light, and her eyes filled with annoyance, though inside of her she ached horribly.

For Jonathan and Coral, it was nothing; _they'd_ only been in high school a month. But for Harmony…it was a huge step in her life…and it hurt her to know that her family, who had sworn they'd always be there for girl…wouldn't be. But then again, how could they be? It's not like they could go to her world; that was completely out of the question. No, it was better like this, the girl's mind argued. It was better to tell them that graduation meant nothing to her…that way, they didn't feel guilty, and Harmony didn't feel like low life scum for making them feel like that. But her cover on the situation was soon to be blown.

"Just a stupid thing?" Emma cried out, her mouth gaping open as she stared at her best friend. "Kat, we've been dreaming about this since we were five years old and in _kindergarten_!" Emma protested, as Harmony's eyes suddenly got slightly panicked, and she turned towards her friend. Both Ariel and Margaret exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding.

"Em, cut it out." The girl warned, but Emma didn't seem to either hear or care one bit.

"I mean, even _my_ parents are gonna come to see me graduate, and that's huge because one, um hello, the only time they're in the same room together is when they're in court, and two, the last time they came to anything that was remotely important was…never!" Emma continued on, despite another warning from her friend to stop.

"It's like, like watching your kid first start walking! Except, it's even bigger! This is _graduating_ _high school_! Everyone's parents are gonna come to this, and I mean, _everyone_. Besides, yesterday, you were practically bouncing off the walls in excitement because we're graduating, and now you don't even care? Jeez Kat, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were gonna ditch, but I mean, you can't because your going to make that speech about—"

Suddenly, Emma's voice was lost, as she looked up directly at her friend in surprise. Harmony gave the girl a clear warning expression, which was mixed with shut-up-before-you-blow-all-of-this. And then, the blonde got the picture. Feeling her voice finally return to her, she looked up at Harmony, and then Ice Queen and gave a shrug.

"I mean, graduating is whatever. No biggie." Emma's voice corrected flatly, though her eyes couldn't meet the lie she was telling. Ariel blinked, once, twice, three times, before looking over at Harmony. The girl had her blue eyes trained onto the floor, not willing to look up at her mother.

"Harmony?" Ariel asked unsurely, reaching out a hand to tuck a few strands of the girl's hair behind her ear. No…Emma must be wrong. There was no way that graduating school could be so important to Harmony. It was just…it made no sense. If it did…the girl would told he parents…right? She couldn't hide such an important thing from them…right?

"Yeah Mom?" Harmony asked, forcing herself to be slightly annoyed, so that she could get rid of the question that would come from her mother. If she acted as though nothing happened, than it would be alright. It had to be.

"Come on; let's at least get those last minute measurements for your wedding dress." Ariel said with a sigh, losing all nerve to confront her daughter about this graduation thing. Maybe later…yes, later, she'd talk to the girl.

"Wedding dress? What wedding dress?" Harmony asked, fully bewildered now as she looked at all her friends, who all gave her the same look in response. What wedding could Ariel be talking about?

"The one for your wedding tomorrow! You don't seriously think you can marry Jonathan wearing nothing, do you?" Ariel said in slight exasperation to the teen. But her words suddenly made Jonathan bolt right up into a sitting position.

"Wait, Harmony is going to _marry_ me tomorrow? What are you talking about? We aren't getting married! " John said, alarmed now. Why was his girlfriend marrying him tomorrow? His mother had to be insane. Harmony was just…Harmony was just his girlfriend! They weren't getting married!

"Jonathan, you're joking. Please, tell me you're kidding." Margaret said with a shaky laugh, before looking back at her son's wide alarmed eyes and matching them with horror. "Don't you remember? After graduation, the two of you are going to come back here, for the ceremony which starts soon after? You know ceremony as in, your marriage? You do remember, don't you? _Don't you_?"

"Ceremony?" "Marriage?" Both Harmony and John said the words at the same time, dumbstruck by them, and clearly showing that they _didn't_ remember. The mothers looked at them in horror. Emma and Coral's jaws dropped to the floor. There was a silence in the library. Then…the tennis ball in John's hand dropped the floor, leaving a soft thud, and suddenly, both the redhead and brunette's minds cleared up.

The past months flashed by them in a rush; the four day courtship that lead to an engagement, the constant stream of letters to one another, the first wedding, the letter, the engraving on the ring, the demands, the time capsule, the trip to Atlantica, whiskey/witches, the first day of school, the schoolhouse fire, the prom…and now…tomorrow…was their second, and last wedding.

"Ohmigod." Harmony said softly, her eyes looking at John's with shock, horror, alarm, and though she'd never admit it, she was terrified.

"That's…that's…oh crap." John said, his eyes bulging from their sockets as he looked back at Harmony. How could they have forgotten? So they had been busy…and maybe they had always been referring to one another as 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' instead of fiancée hadn't helped…but still. To forget their own wedding?

Wedding…the words were so…final. As Harmony stared at John, and he stared back at her, both knew their thoughts matched up. They'd become engaged way too quickly, with just knowing the basics about each other. And then, they'd been separated for months, until they were finally able to come back together…and chaos ensued. Then, a glimmer of hope, as they had one month to just be together, without stresses…and they liked being able to be just…normal. Of course, they loved one another to the point where it was absurd, and they knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together…but to marry? They were just…they weren't _ready_ for something so final, not yet. But how could they explain that to their families? They couldn't. It was just…it was impossible.

Still staring at John, Harmony knew suddenly what she would do. She wasn't going to let the fear of striking out keep her from playing the game. Yes, she wasn't ready for marriage, and oh yes, she was terrified at just the thought of it. But maybe, maybe for once, if she went with the flow instead of fighting against it, things would work themselves out. Until then…well, actually, until tomorrow, the girl would simply have to put on a brave face, and deal with it.

* * *

**Hello everyone! No, I did not die and fall off the face of the earth…but I had a good reason for not updating in forever! Remember when I said that I got a rash from picking mangoes because of the mango sap? Well, the morning after I posted that chapter, I woke up and my face looked like the creature from the black lagoon! Seriously! My nose was twice the size, my eyes were so swollen I could hardly see, and my face was bright, bright, bright tomato red! After an emergency visit to the doctor, I found out that I was having 'a severe allergic reaction'! And that's just from touching the mango; imagine what would happen if I had eaten one! But anyway, a week later today, my face is finally back to normal, but I still have that stupid rash! So now, I'm taking four different pills a day, AND have to wear PRESCRIPTION lotion! Gah! Stupid mangoes! They caused all of this! I have pledged war against them; Zombie Librarians, Evil Bunnies with Cookies, a few friends of mine, and even xJaderainx have all decided to join my war; will you, my faithful reviewers, do the same? **

**Anyway, I plan to wrap up this story by Sunday, in the early morning hours. Why? Because, for those of you (which will probably be all) who don't know, July 11****th**** is the day I posted my first Harmony story, Just a Sonata Away onto this website! Yes, it's the one year anniversary of Harmony, and to celebrate it, I plan to wrap up this story. It won't be easy, but I'm going to try my hardest to do so! **

**Also, I would advise all of you to check back this website through the day, and possibly even the night, because today, the 9****th**** also marks a special anniversary. The first time I ever posted a story on fanfiction! It was called 'Beached' and for those of you who haven't read it, it's basically my one-shot take on how Ariel became interested in human things. To celebrate this anniversary, I plan to finish writing out a two shot I've been wanting to do for awhile! I already have the first chapter done! :D **

**This is a rather long author's note, isn't it? Oh well. To get back on track with the story…Harmony and John completely forgot about their wedding! And now, both of them are having second thoughts on getting married in the first place! Of course, they still will to please their families...and Harmony is already trying to be an optimist in all of this, which is rare for her as you know, but still. Will there be a wedding? Ooh, and also, Harmony is graduating, and feeling a little hurt that Ariel isn't going to be there to see it. How will that play out? Only time, and if you review, can tell! **

**On a completely random off note, sports time! As most of you know already, Lebron James (I don't follow basketball whatsoever, and barely have any idea on how to play it, or who plays it, but, c'mon, this is Lebron James! Everyone knows who he is!) officially decided to sign on with the Miami Heat! My hometown team! Yay! In Fifa world cup soccer news (now THAT is a sport I follow!), Germany and Uruguay will play each other on Saturday for third and fourth place, and Sunday, get ready, because Spain (My homeboys!) and Netherlands play for first and second place! Sadly, I will not be able to watch this final game, because I will be in the new Harry Potter World that just opened up in Island's of Adventure in Orlando, because of a school-yearbook-trip. ****Oh well. **

**REVIEW!**


	134. A Bachelorette Party to Remember

"…he is _so_ yummy!" Coral said dreamily, blowing on her newly painted violet nails to dry the polish. Sitting on her cousin's bed, the sixteen year old had her legs folded underneath her, as she smiled in a far off way.

"Back off Cor, he's _mine_!" Emma said with a laugh, teasing in a playful fashion to one of her best friends. She had a pillow resting underneath her chin, as she kept dipping her hand into a bowl of popcorn, and the placing some into her mouth, all the while not bothering to be polite and close her mouth while she chewed.

"Uh, I don't know what either of you are talking about, but he's mine. After all, I am the hottest one here…" Harmony trailed off with a grin, laughing as her friends gave her sour looks and threw popcorn in protest at her. Though it was far from a Vegas bachelorette party, a sleepover with her closest friends the night before she was to become married was the best Harmony could come up with six hours ago when she realized she would be marrying John tomorrow. Marry. The word still sent goose bumps to her skin, though the girl tried her best to keep them down.

Shaking that off, the girl looked towards her twin sister, who was lounging on her stomach, on the bed (that apparently would be replaced in the morning with a bigger one as part of the compromise with Ariel that if Harmony got to stay in her room once she married John, she'd at least get a bigger bed), lost deep in thought. Rolling her eyes, the redhead shook the raven haired girl's shoulder, causing the girl to jerk out of her thoughts, and look up sheepishly.

"Mel, you're supposed to be having _fun_." Harmony reminded the girl, who gave a phantom like smile towards her twin. Harmony didn't understand what Melody was thinking of; how could she, when she wasn't a mother?

"I am, I am." Melody assured earnestly, though the three teenage girls around her gave her doubting looks. "No, really, I am having fun. I'm just…just a little preoccupied with thinking of Brendon, that's all. It's the first night I'm spending away from him in five months…" Melody's voice floated away, as she wondered about how her baby boy was faring.

She could never get any adequate sleep any longer at night because of him, and more often than not she groaned and wished she didn't want to have to wake up to soothe his cries…but she spends one night without having to do a thing concerning him, and all she wanted to be was with him. It was the curse of mothers, the girl mused, remembering overhearing her own mother mention it to her father once, long ago.

"*Snort* All he does is poop, eat, cry, and repeat. I don't see _how_ you could possibly miss him." Coral stated, finishing up her second hand of nails, before placing the polish back on Harmony's nightstand.

Tomorrow…tomorrow night, Harmony would become…officially, and adult, by consummating her marriage. The thought of it terrified Coral, who knew that Tuesday morning Harmony would be completely different. So far the girl had managed to stay the same throughout her engagement, and she'd even said that after she was married she would still play at the club…but Tuesday morning…the Harmony Coral now new, would be gone, and so would that promise. The thought of it scared the girl to no degree, but seriously, what could she do? Nothing. So she would have to take what she had left of old Harmony, and then remember the girl in her good days.

"He doesn't—" Melody quickly stopped herself, as she saw the still disbelieving looks on her friends faces, as though they couldn't believe she was about to say 'he doesn't _just_ do that'. So instead, she gave a sigh, and shook her head. "Never mind. You'll understand someday."

"Yeah, when I have little baby Nereus's I'll understand!" Harmony said with a laugh, despite the shrieks of protest coming from her cousin and best friend. Even Melody gave a full blown laugh, clutching onto her stomach.

"Girls, that's no way for young ladies to act." A voice fell through the room, a voice all four teens knew well. All four immediately straightened up, their laughs gone as they recognized the voice of authority. But the owner of the voice suddenly let the seriousness of her expression fade away, and in it's place, a smug little smile. "At least, with the door open." Ariel's smug smile morphed into a warmer one, as she gave a once over at the four teens. They seriously had thought the Queen was that much of a joy kill! Ariel had once been their age too; she knew that girls…well, they just wanted to have fun. Letting her eyes travel over each and every teen, respectively, the mother knew there was only one she wanted to speak to at the moment.

"You know," Ariel started, leaning against the doorpost of the room, with her arms crossed against her chest. She had yet to change into her nightgown yet, still too busy with last minute things concerning the wedding. Shouldn't that be Harmony's job, freaking out at the last minute, instead of her mother? Yes. But did Ariel, for one moment, trust that the girl would do a single thing when it came down to planning a wedding, and if she did plan something, would it be horrible? Oh, without a doubt. So that's why the mother had taken charge of the entire affair. "I'm sure there's a few cans of that silly string still hidden underneath the bed of the first guest room in the west wing." Ariel's calm words were all it took for Emma and Coral to share one look between each other, before bolting out of the room in search of the silly string to use on one another, or better yet, Harmony.

"I better check on Brendon." Melody confessed, after watching her cousin and best friend bolt out of the room. Harmony opened her mouth the protest, but her sister cut her off. "Don't worry; I'll be back in five minutes. I wouldn't miss a silly string fight for the world." Melody said with a twinkle in her eye, a twinkle that Harmony had been missing for awhile now. Had Melody changed after having her son? Yes. But deep down, was she still the same secret-rebel that had an obsession with music that rivaled Harmony's own? Hell yes.

As Melody walked out of her sister's room, she gave a half hearted smile to her mother, who sent her a grateful look in return. Truth be told, Melody knew she didn't need to check up on Brendon. She was just using it as an excuse to give her mother and Harmony some time alone.

"How'd you know about the silly string?" Harmony's voice was the first the break the air that had settled between her and her mother. Ariel gave a soft laugh, sitting next to the girl on her bed with a smile.

"Please honey. I'm your mother; do you honestly think that I don't know of your shenanigans by now?" Ariel asked, still smiling, though her smile was a bit…hurt? Why would that be, Harmony wondered, before shaking it off. Maybe she was imagining things.

"I guess not." Harmony ruefully acknowledged, making her mother laugh again, and tuck away a few stray strands of her red hair behind her ear. For the next moment or two, the only sounds were of both of them breathing, before Ariel broke the silence this time.

"Nervous about the wedding? It _was_ a lot to take in, especially after realizing it was tomorrow…" Had Ariel been surprised, and shocked, and horrified, when she realized that her daughter had completely forgotten about her own wedding? Yes. But did she hold it against the girl? No. After all, the past month had been filled to the brim with the girl's scheming, exploring, discovering, and death defying days. It made sense that she would slowly start to let it slip her mind, especially after her mother had taken full charge over all of it.

"Yeah. A little nervous." Harmony confessed, starting to bite her nails. Ariel quickly smacked the girl's hand away with a warning expression, before in melted into one of skepticism and disbelief. Harmony gave a sigh. "Okay, a lot nervous. And…kind of scared." Harmony said with a shaky laugh, swallowing deeply in slight fear. Ariel gave the girl a look of mild understanding.

"At least you're doing better than I was. Neptune knows; I was a _wreck_ the night before I married your father." Ariel said mildly, remembering back when she was a girl of sixteen, and almost jumping out of her skin the hours before marrying her now husband.

"_You_ were scared? But-but, you're not scared of anything! I mean, c'mon Mom, after all you've done in like, your entire life, it's impossible for you to be scared of stupid stuff like this!" Harmony protested, correcting her mother almost immediately. Ariel, scared? Blasphemy! Only Harmony got scared; after all, her life had been ruled by fear. But Ariel?

"Where on earth did you get an idea like that?" Ariel asked in surprise at the girl's words. "Harmony, sweetheart, I may be your mother, but I get scared like every normal person!" Ariel defended herself, though her daughter scoffed at her words almost immediately.

"Name once." The girl challenged skepticism heavy in her tone. Ariel was silent for a moment, and when she did finally speak, her voice was so soft Harmony barely caught it.

"When I couldn't find a trace of you in this world when you were just a baby, I was scared. When you ranaway after what Melody said, I was scared. When you fought and defeated Morgana, and then nearly killed yourself from that horrible fall, I was scared. When you came to me in hysterics, I was scared. When you purposely drove a knife through yourself, I was scared. When you ran after you read that letter, I was scared. When you've cut, smoke, runaway, put yourself in danger, nearly killed yourself, or even put yourself down, I was scared. But most of all? Whenever you go to Nebraska, if only for a few minutes, I'm absolutely terrified."

Harmony blinked, clearly not expecting this from her mother. The woman…was scared…for her? But…but…but…that was just…insane! The girl had made plenty of horrible choices…but they were her choices alone. Ariel couldn't be scared because of them…right? That just…it made no sense.

"But…_why_?" The shocked and dumbfounded girl managed to ask in her surprise. Ariel gave a bittersweet smile, as she leaned forward and kissed the girl's forehead, before hugging her close.

"Because, my baby, my darling, my little harmonic tune, as hard as you may find this to believe, I worry about you, and so does your father. And we worry so much, because we love you to death, and can't _stand_ the thought of losing you again, silly girl." Ariel murmured, stroking the girl's short locks as she had often done in the past. Tomorrow, it would just be another past thing that Ariel couldn't do any longer to her married daughter…but for right now, it was all the mother could do to keep herself from crying.

"Wow Mom. Uh…thanks. I guess." Harmony said, suddenly uncomfortable, and pulling away from her mother. She never really was one for sappy moments. "You know though, tomorrow you won't be able to call me a girl." Now Ariel's almost tears were dissolving, as she lifted an eyebrow warily, wondering if the girl would say what she was thinking she would say. "After graduation, I'll be an adult. I'll finally have graduated…" There was a sense of awe in Harmony's voice, something that couldn't be made up, unless the girl was the world's greatest actress. But then, suddenly coming back to earth, the girl shook her head quickly, blushing slightly and looking away.

"But it's just graduation. No biggie or anything." Harmony said through a weak smile, managing to look back at her mother. Ariel was frowning, though whether it was from Harmony or if she was deep in thought, the girl couldn't tell.

"Mhm hm." Ariel acknowledged the girl's words with a sound, before coming to a mental conclusion, one she didn't allow to show on her face. "I think I hear Emma and Coral coming back, and Melody must be on her way by now too. I should go." Ariel said, as footsteps and voices started to become apparent in the hallway. Leaning down, the mother kissed the girl's face for a moment, before straightening up, and calling behind her a goodnight to the girl.

Walking out of Harmony's room, Ariel made sure she wasn't in view of her daughter any longer, before she noticed both Emma and Coral running down the hallway, with their arms filled with cans of silly string. Coral Ariel let run past her without a second glance, but her arm shot out like a bullet to stop Emma. The blonde girl, who as you know by now, was not particularly fond of Ariel, gave the woman a clearly annoyed, and expectant expression for something to happen. And something would be, Ariel thought mentally to herself, gritting her teeth together, and clenching her eyes shut, before letting out a controlled breath between her breath and looking eye to eye with the teen.

"I need some help."

* * *

**Well, that was an interesting chapter to write. And it took me a good hour and a half to do it too, so be glad! See, I want to make the story move along, so I've updated two loooong chapters in one night! Please review! **


	135. I'm Not Gonna Cry

_Sunday Shoes, Cap and Gown  
The whole town gathered around  
Waited 18 years now it's all comin down to this. _

Kathy, who at the moment was wearing a blue robe and cardboard graduation cap, took in a deep, calming breath, trying to stop her nerves from jittering so much. But it wasn't all nerves. There was also…also another feeling. She was…she was sad.

_I scanned the crowd and it fills my soul  
My best friends all here in rows  
No turning back, Now its time to walk that line _

Slowly, the girl made her way from her spot on the makeshift outdoor stage to the podium, and swallowed nervously once. The girl who had been through so much, was finally going to speak. Or at least, attempt to do so. Taking in a deep breath, the girl began.

_It's been a lonely, winding journey  
and we've lost a few along the way_

"Two years ago, on my dead brother's behalf, I accepted his high school diploma. And now, it's my turn." The girl's eyes scanned the crowd once, before she swallowed again nervously and kept on. "There's some things that I regret, some words…I wish had gone unsaid, and some starts that I wish had some better endings. There's mistakes that I've made, some chances I just threw away, and some roads…I never should have taken. There were signs I didn't see, hearts I hurt needlessly, and some wounds, that I wish I could have one more chance to mend." Here the girl looked up again, her eyes quickly scanning the crowd, before looking back down, and letting her voice start to rise in strength.

"But what I've come to realize is that it doesn't make a difference. The past can't be rewritten, so you have to deal with the life you're given." The redhead's voice was strengthening by each word, and slowly, her head was starting to come up to meet people's gazes. "My family and my best friends have helped me see that all the things that break you, are the things that make you strong. So I've turned a few pages, burned a few bridges, shed some tears, and spent countless days wondering how I'd get through the night…and throughout all of that, I've learned lessons that will stick with me for life, and it was all thanks to my family and my best friends." Her throat was starting to close up and her eyes were starting to get misty, as the girl scanned the entire crowd again, and then looked behind her at her friends, who grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Swallowing back her tears, the girl took in a calming breath.

"Thank you all." The girl finished with her speech, and there was a rousing sense of applause. Although she was no stranger to applause and the stage…this was different. This was her future…this was it all coming down. She clenched her fist tightly, as the tears started to rise again in her eyes, and she tried hard not to let them loose.

_But I'm not gonna cry, no  
Not one sad or happy tear  
I've waited my whole life  
Now I'm gonna fly right outta here_

Kids were starting to be called up to the podium, their brilliant smiles the real lights of the stage. Kathy watched as Emma proudly accepted her diploma, her brown eyes really alight with happiness as she smiled once at the crowd, and then quickly at Kathy with misty eyes that said only one thing; after four years, we've finally made it.

__

Friday night, football games,  
First loves and first heartbreaks,  
It didn't matter who won or lost,  
Only how we played,

_Memories as good as gold,_  
_Tearin' up those mountain roads,_  
_racin' out 53, to old georgetown,_  
_Sure we made a little trouble,_  
_but learned from every mistake,_  
_So theres no regret,_  
_we've done the best we could_

John and Coral were called up, and though they still didn't understand the big fuss about graduation, they still accepted their diplomas with smug grins that said all. John turned back and gave Harmony a wink and a smirk, while Coral practically skipped to her seat again, happy as a clam for no reason Harmony could think of.

_This tassel is gonna turn_  
_But when the moment passes by_  
_We'll just walk away_  
_Then slowly grow apart_

The girl was surprised when her name was suddenly called. She was even more surprised when her legs started to lift upwards without her permission, and she started to walk across the stage. She was a witch, a princess, a normal girl, a cutter, a painter, a sketcher, a musician, an almost-bride, and a teen celebrity down in Atlantica…and yet, her heart still pumped like a drum in her chest, as she made it to the podium. The diploma was placed in her hand, with a muttered 'good job', and there was a flash of a camera. Parents clapped politely, and students were too proud of themselves to whoop and holler, as the girl took in a deep breath, and gave a short nod to the principal. Then, she turned around and headed for her seat again…now armed with a diploma and a sense of deserved accomplishment.

_Still we've hung in there through the tribulations_  
_Now its time to celebrate_  
_Its our graduation day _

Hats were thrown in the air as they were all declared graduated. Whoops and hollers came out from everywhere, even one or two from the girl. Laughing once or twice, she tried to maneuver through the swarm of parents who were coming upon their children. Parents congratulated children, children hugged their proud parents…it seemed the only one not in this was the girl…but she didn't mind. Much. Managing to come out of the throng of parents and newly graduates, she finally found a tiny, quiet spot away from all of this commotion. Sitting on the stage steps by herself, the girl let her eyes wander towards the kids she'd grown up with, a bittersweet smile on her features as she realized, officially, this marked the end of her childhood. She was now an adult.

_It's a bittersweet goodbye, so I'm not gonna cry_

"Whatcha doin' here?" A voice startled the girl, as she looked up in surprise…before giving a tiny, hurt grin and shaking her head.

"Nothin'. Just thinkin'." Harmony answered her boyfriend, watching with wary eyes as he pulled his graduation gown off of himself. His brown eyes studied her blue ones, completely calm before questioning her.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" John questioned, his voice not quite country, but not quite 'princey' either. The one good thing about him, Harmony thought to herself musingly, is that he never beats around the bush. Still, before the girl could do a thing, a deflated sigh left her lips.

"Idk…" She trailed off, looking towards the parents and students together, before back up at John. "I kind of wish Mom and Dad could've been here for me…you know?" Harmony asked, before sighing again and shaking her head. John on the other hand, merely grinned the devilish grin the girl loved so much, and extended his hand.

"Follow me."

_So I'm not gonna cry_  
_Not one sad or happy tear_  
_I've waited my whole life_  
_So I'm gonna fly right outta here _

John dragged Harmony through the parents and students, causing the girl's heart to sink deeper and deeper as she realized that had she a normal childhood, that could have been her. Her eyes grew misty at the thought, but she refused to cry out tears. What good were they? This was a happy day! She'd spent years dreaming about this… now she was going to be married, and then everything would be amazing. It had to be.

Suddenly, John stopped dragging her along, and instead pushed her slightly forward. The girl momentarily stumbled in her Converse (oh yes, she was wearing them), and started to look back once to shoot her boyfriend a glare. But, she never got the chance to, because it was at that moment, she felt someone…or rather, someone-s, hugging her tight.

These people were warm, their embrace loving. A kiss or two was directed towards the top of the girl's head, though she could hardly see who had done it. Becoming rather short of breath, the girl inhaled deeply…and stopped short. The person she was currently squashed against smelled like the sea, a sweet, slightly salty smell, and the other person smelled like…like land, an almost woodsy like smell, with a trace or the sea. Oh, Harmony knew these people well. They were her parents. And that thought alone, made the girl burst into unbridled tears.

_This has been the best day of my life, so I'm not gonna cry_

_

* * *

_

**Sorry guys, I wasn't able to keep my promise and finish the story tonight! :( I got too caught up with that other three or four shot I'm posting also tonight on Saturday night; I stayed up till 6:30 to finish it, so be nice and review it! Anyway, I had a party today, and, well, my day was just really hectic so i didn't have much of a chance to write. But I promise, when i come back Wed, I'll update, and I'll finish the story by the end of the week! For that you have my word! **

**There are two songs in this chapter. One of them is hidden; find out where the song is, the song title, and song writer, and you'll win a prize! The other song is called 'I'm Not Gonna Cry'. I thought it fit the story, and sadly, I do not own it! **

**Anyway, this chapter HAS to be dedicated to my faithful reviewers and readers. A year ago I posted my first Harmony story, and now, a full year has come, and I'm on the fifth of this series! Thanks to all of you for keeping up with reading, reviewing, and paying attention to my author note ramblings! You all rock! **


	136. Part of Your Life Parents: Needed

"You-You-You guys—" Harmony stuttered out, feeling her tears slip down her face at an alarming rate. Ariel gently brought her thumb to the girl's face, wiping off her tears as though the seventeen year old was seven.

"Came to see you graduate." Melody filled in with a wry grin. Harmony, shocked, turned to her twin, her jaw hanging low as she blinked a few times, trying to comprehend her sister coming all the way to Nebraska just to see her graduate. "What?" Melody asked at her sister's surprise. "You didn't think I was going to miss my big sister graduating High School, did you?" The teenage mother said with a copycat grin of her sister's.

"Bu-but…_why_?" The redhead whispered in a wondering tone. "I-I mean…why would you-would you come all the way here…just for me?"

"We told you before Harmony, we want to be as much a part of your life as possible. If something is important to you, than it's important to us and we aren't going to miss it. That's why, Harm." Eric's warm voice said to his daughter, kissing her forehead in a fatherly fashion. But his voice struck a chord in the teenage girl, who felt…safe. And loved. And…and…wanted. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced in this world for years.

"We love you honey, and we're especially proud of you for growing up to be a wonderful young woman." Ariel said with a huge smile, trying to swallow that lump in her throat as she refused to cry the tears that threatened to escape. Leaning in, she kissed Harmony's cheek lovingly, before running her hand alongside the girl's face. "It's like you said honey, the past may not be able to be rewritten…but that doesn't mean that the present can't be written correctly. And the present sweetheart, is you," Ariel took her daughter's hand, and made sure she lead it directly to John's, watching with a smile as the teenagers blushed lightly, but intertwined their hands with one another all the same. "And Jonathan."

Harmony felt herself smiling, and she felt her mother wiping off her tears, and she felt John's warm hand around hers, and she felt her father's pride just radiating off of him as he kissed her forehead…and she felt at home.

"Aw, how sweet. Now cut it out before I barf." A sarcastic voice stated, quite smugly, as Emma appeared next to the family for a moment. Harmony turned towards her, her blue eyes still wet, but shining all the same.

"You did this, didn't you?" The girl questioned, though she knew it to be true.

"'Course I did." Emma answered with a grin, her graduation gown already off of her as it was draped over one of her arms. "What, you think I was asking you for a glamour to cover up someone's clothes in Nebraska just for fun last night? Please. I have a life ya know. I was just doin' Ice Queen a favor." The blonde teenager said with a lazy grin, her brown eyes mischievous towards her best friend.

"Don't take all the credit! I helped!" John argued, his voice floating into the conversation, as he knew Emma was trying to take all the credit. But the blonde teenager merely grinned wider, and shook out her flat ironed hair.

"Me too! You can't forget about me!" Coral laughed, inputting herself into this conversation.

"Yeah yeah Johnny-boy and Coraline, you helped. Blah blah blah. But I did most of the work." Emma laughed, waving a dismissive hand towards John and Coral, which ended up in herself being shoved. Usually, the teen would've have shoved the boy right back, but at this moment right now, she could care less, as she was too happy to have graduated.

"Your ego is about the size of Shireland, do you know that?" Melody asked, teasing her friend with a grin, as Emma merely shook it off and gave the girl a small shove. Harmony rolled her eyes at the exchange, but couldn't quite resist the smirk on her features.

"She gets it from her parents." The girl filled in, a smirkish-smile still on her face as she looked towards her twin with all seriousness. Melody laughed, Emma mock-scowled, and John and Coral smirked. It seemed the only ones out of this were Ariel and Eric, who exchanged a furrowed look at the mention of Emma's parents.

"Speaking of parents, where _are _yours?" Ariel asked lightly, curiously almost. The former resentment she'd felt against the girl had long shriveled away, due to the fact that she owed Emma nearly everything for all that she'd done for her daughter.

"I dunno." Emma shrugged, before whipping out her cell phone. "They're probably somewhere around here, I just can't find them right now. Lemme call them." Emma said, still light and happy from her graduation a she pressed a few buttons on her phone, and put the thing to her ear. Frowning at still not being able to hear because of the noise around her, the girl put the call on speaker, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Riiiing, Riiiing, Riiiing, Rii—What?" A voice barked from the other line, a harsh, stressed voice. Emma didn't look like she noticed much, though Ariel and Eric shared another look at that.

"Hi Pam." The blonde teenager said cheerily. She'd always felt more comfortable by calling her parents by their first names, since she hardly knew either one of them. They were just never really in her life…they had always left her and her siblings alone.

"What Emma?" The voice from the other end barked again, impatient and wanting this conversation to end quickly.

"Where are you?" Emma questioned, quickly as she knew her mother wasn't in the mood to talk to her daughter at the moment. She never was or had been…but growing up, Emma had learned to deal with it and keep on moving.

"What do you mean, 'where am I'?" The voice from the other end barked again, impatient and stressed as always. "I'm at work, and I was in the middle of a meeting when _you_ called." The voice had turned accusing now, almost as though the woman was blaming Emma for something so silly. What she couldn't see because she was on the phone was Emma's face fall like someone had just popped a balloon, as she realized something.

"Y-You're not at the high school?" The girl questioned, her voice faltering slightly. Harmony ripped her hand away from John's so that she could place it on her friend's shoulder in comfort and support. Emma shook it off in a moment.

"_Why_ would I be at the high school?" The woman asked in a still impatient and now slightly annoyed voice. "Is something wrong? Did Susie get hurt? Did you? Is Tommy alright?" The annoyance was replaced by slight worry now, the impatience gone from it almost completely.

"Everyone is fine Pam." Emma answered, feeling as though her heart was breaking, piece, by piece, by piece.

"Okay. Then _why_ are you calling me and asking if I'm at the high school?" The barking, harshness was in the voice again, and Emma felt herself swallow deeply, trying to rid herself of that giant lump that refused to go away in her throat.

"Because I just—I just—"

"Just _what_?"

"I just nothing." Emma finally whispered. "I'm sorry for bothering you." And just like that, the blonde girl pressed a button on her phone, and the line clicked off. Though they were surrounded by noise, it seemed so silent around the group of people. Melody rested her hand on her friend's shoulder, but like her sister before her was shaken off almost immediately.

"She forgot." Emma whispered out loud, before shaking her head and laughing to herself. Her laugh was fake. "Whatever. I mean, lots of people forget things, right? It's no big deal that my mom forgot about me graduating." The girl babbled in an attempt to keep herself consoled. "Lemme call up David, he's gotta be here since Pam isn't." Emma said in a light, forced tone, before pressing another button on her phone. Again, she put it on speaker to hear better.

"Riiin—Emma?" A distracted voice from the other line asked, as though the owner of the voice was doing something and they were multi tasking at the moment.

"Hi David. Where are—" Emma wasted no time in getting to the point in the phone call to her father…but unfortunately, neither did he.

"Emma, good. Look, you're bringing Susie and Tommy to my house tonight and your staying for dinner because we're celebrating." For a moment, Emma blinked once, surprised, before smiling a little. She knew he wouldn't forget! She might hate him to pieces, but of course he wouldn't forget and celebrate her graduation with a special dinner!

"I didn't know you were gonna have a celebrating dinner for me! Thanks David!" The girl said, the tears in her eyes gone and replaced by a happy shining.

"Not you." The voice from the other end snarled, the distraction gone from it now. "Rachel. She finally decided not to break up with me, despite what you said to her last time you were over. So all three of you are coming over tonight, and _you're_ going to apologize for what you said." Emma's face fell, and then relit again, this time with anger and shock.

"Rachel? Your twenty-something-_girlfriend_? You want me to celebrate the fact that she _didn't_ break up with you? David, she flat out told me that if you _ever_ get full custody of Susie and Tommy, she'll ship 'em off to boarding school, halfway across the world and then she called me a bitch and a whore, and a bunch of other stuff and ya'll did absolutely nothin' to stop her! Make her apologize to me first, and _then_ I'll consider apologizing to her!" Emma said angrily, her heated voice and lit up brown eyes almost terrifying. "Besides, you shouldn't be celebrating her! You should be celebrating me! I just—"

"She was only kiddin' about Susie and Tommy, and she was givin' you constructive criticism, but instead of just taking it, you blew up at her and it almost cost me a girlfriend! I'm celebrating that she didn't break up with me, and all you can think of is yourself! You're a selfish sixteen year old!" The voice from the other line yelled in an accusing tone…but all it did was make Emma's shoulder's drop and the anger to completely leave her, as so did the fight.

"I'm eighteen David. Not sixteen." The girl corrected in an angered voice, feeling the tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Don't give _me_ attitude!" The voice from the other line yelled again, making Emma wince slightly.

"I'm not giving you an attitude! I'm tellin' you the truth!" Emma said in an even angrier voice, feeling a tear roll down her face as she clenched her teeth together in fury. You know when you're so mad that you cry? Well, it was one of those moments for the girl.

"I don't know where the hell you picked up that attitude but you better get rid of it! You're coming over tonight and if you don't I swear to god…!" The voice trailed off in the threat, before the line suddenly went dead, the call ending right then and there.

Emma blinked and swallowed, once, twice, three times, before lowering the phone from her mouth, and gripping it oh so tightly. Harmony grimaced slightly, along with John, Coral, and Melody, all of whom knew that what had just happened was a common occurrence in Emma's life. Ariel and Eric blinked in shock.

"They forgot." A bitter laugh escaped the blonde's lips at that, before she shook out her hair and tried to hold back her tears. "'Scuse me." The girl said in a normal tone, thought there was desperation behind it. Taking off her heels, and holding them by their straps in one hand, the girl started to run barefoot on the grassy field, back towards the school, and straight to the girl's bathroom.

"Oh crap." Harmony whispered. Emma was like her sister…she felt the girl's pain, one hundred percent. She knew what it was like for the world to just forget about you. "I've gotta go see how she's hanging in there. Sorry guys." The redhead almost immediately, no doubt in her mind that she had to take this course of action. Emma had always been there for her…now the girl needed Harmony. Stepping forward, the teenager was about to disappear in the crowd, when she felt a light hand rest on her wrist.

"Wait sweetheart." Ariel's voice rang out, pulling her daughter back easily. Harmony raised her brows at her mother, crossing her arms over her chest in the process. Ariel probably was going to say that her daughter wasn't allowed to go see how Emma was, the girl mused. Despite this though, she was still going to go see how Emma was hanging in there, with or without Ariel's consent. So nothing could have prepared the girl for the next words out of her mother's mouth.

"_You_ stay right here. _I'm _going to see how she's doing." Ariel explained firmness in her tone that all mothers somehow managed to accomplish. Everyone, besides Eric, looked absolutely, positively…stunned.

"Aunt Ariel, no offense but…" Coral started, trailing off with her gentle tone, as though speaking to a child who wanted candy, but wasn't allowed to have it before dinner.

"It's just that Em is used to…" Melody trailed off, trying to delicately phrase this to her mother, though it was nothing short of impossible. Lance had been nothing less than shocked when his teenaged wife had told him that she would be going to Nebraska to see her sister graduate high school…but he knew as well as everyone else that 'You can't' did not exist in the Benson women vocabulary.

"Don't you, like, I don't know…" Even John, who had no trouble speaking out his opinion, was finding his own words difficult to phrase something like this.

"Mom, not that I don't like you or anything, but, um—" Harmony was suddenly cut off, though the girl couldn't say it wasn't thankfully. It was hard enough trying to talk Ariel out of something normal…but something like this was going to be nearly impossible!

"Emma," Eric started slowly, voicing this mostly for the teens. "Doesn't need her best friends at the moment; she needs her mother. Since obviously, that's impossible, then she needs some type of parental figure in her life." Eric explained to the teens, who only blinked in confusion, causing Ariel to sigh, and shake her head. Reaching out, she cupped Harmony's face in her hand for a moment, before leaning in the press a motherly kiss against the girl's cheek.

"What Eric means is that sometimes, things just need a mother's touch. And I believe this may just be one of those times."


	137. Bathroom Bonding

Emma had always prided herself on being the strong one in her family. She was the one who kept it all together, even when it was falling apart. She was the one who old ladies shook their heads at when they saw her and said 'That girl is growin' up too soon.' She was the one who was always in command, and in control. So then how come she was sitting on a toilet in the girl's bathroom, hugging her knees to her chest, and crying so hard that the walls could've shaken?

Light footsteps in the girl's bathroom immediately made the blonde teenager stiffen, and bury her head into her knees so that her sobs were muffled. She couldn't let anyone find her in here, crying like a baby. The mere thought of someone seeing her in such a state was mortifying…even if that person was her best friend. She loved Kat to death, really, she did, but the girl had her own problems to deal with; far greater problems than a teenage girl whose divorced parents hardly knew she existed.

The light footsteps suddenly stopped, and the creaking of an old stall door opened…close to Emma in fact. Actually, so close that if the teen didn't know any better, she would have sworn that was her own door…looking up for a brief moment through her tears, the brown eyes of the country teenager grew wide as she realized her stall door was in fact open…and as her eyes started to travel upwards on the person, she came to a realization who it was.

"Fuck off Ice Queen." Emma whined, wiping off her tears and nose on the sleeve of her dress, since she'd long ago taken off her graduation gown. "I know you're here just to make me feel worse, and really Ice Queen, I ain't in the mood for it." The blonde stated, hugging her knees closer to her chest and looking away from Ice Queen. Following her all the way to the girl's bathroom, just so that she could mock her when she was at her lowest point was horrible…but then again, Emma didn't call her Ice Queen for nothin'.

"I'm not here to make you feel worse sweetie." Ariel assured in a gentle tone, knowing from experience not to reach out to the teenager. After all, she had a teenager who was in this type of predicament every few months. By now she'd gotten used to how to deal with it. "I just wanted to talk to you. That's all."

"Talk? You wanna _talk_?" Emma asked incredulously, staring at Ice Queen in shock, as though the woman had grown an extra head. "And who says I'll talk to _you_? You've _hated_ me since I was fourteen." The soccer star stated bluntly, not blinking and holding her ground, though her tear stained face told another story all together.

"Hated?" Ariel mused, mulling the word over in her mind. She couldn't bring herself to hate anyone, especially a child. Dislike greatly, yes, but hate? It was virtuously impossible for the woman. Well, excepting Morgana and Ursula, but that was two very special cases. "I've never 'hated' you Emma. Disliked and thought you were a bad influence on my daughters, yes, but hate? Absolutely not." Ariel said firmly, and it was true. She could say in her mind a thousand times over now and in the past that she hated Emma…but deep down, she couldn't bring herself to hate a child.

"Look, I don't know what kind of weird reverse psychology you're trying to put up Ice Queen, but it ain't workin' on me." Emma stated, wiping off her tears with her dress sleeve and looking back up at the redhead, sniffling. There was something in her eyes, something like anger, mixed with desperation. Emma, the oldest, who was always in control…was suddenly not. Is this what Harmony felt like daily, the girl wondered. Is this what the redheaded teen was tortured with?

"Unless you can get my mom to talk to me more than once a month—or _see_ me more than once a month—or get my dad to dump that bitch of a girlfriend of his and pay attention to his kids, or get _both_ my parents to remember that I still exist, than you can just walk away and leave me alone 'cause I ain't _ever_ gonna talk to you." Inadvertently, Emma had revealed what the problem was, and though she knew this, she wasn't too upset by it. She knew it would go over Ice Queen's head. After all, when you've lived the perfect, sheltered life, why would you know anything of what goes on beyond your pretty little castle?

Ariel was silent for a moment, letting the teen's words sink into her mind. It was finally starting to make sense now. The way the girl called her parents by their first names, the reason why she pretty much raising her brother and sister, how come the girl never spoke about her parents, and if she did, her tone was harsh or hard. Did _all _children in this world that have such horrible upbringing, or just the ones Harmony was friends with?

"My mother died when I was five. My father became completely emotionally detached and paid little attention beyond name basis to my sisters and I for the next ten years." Ariel said quietly, looking away too with a slight frown. Though Athena was back and Triton was a good father…those ten lost years of her youth was still one of the things that haunted the now Queen. Emma sniffled, miserably looking away, and still wiping the tears on her dress sleeve.

"Your point?" Emma wondered, her breathing slightly unsteady as she tried not to burst out into tears again at the thought of her own family. Her brown eyes ready for this to be over…like _now_. Talking to Ice Queen without insults flying between the both of them was just…awkward. And the fact that she shared something personal with Emma? Even awkward-er.

"You're not the only one who's had to grow up in a dysfunctional family. I understand more about what you're going through then you think." Ariel cleared it up to simple terms, making Emma blink in surprise, and looked up shocked at the Ice Queen. But then her shock wore off, and bitterness replaced it once again.

"Yeah well, at least _your_ parents didn't forget about you graduatin'." The blonde said in a harsh tone, sniffling and looking at the full of graffiti stall walls. Anywhere but Ariel's intense blue eyes. "My god, _you _came from a totally different world just to see your kid graduate…and my parents couldn't even be bothered to come from ten minutes away." The blonde added softly, mostly to herself, before blearily and tear stained looking up at Ariel.

"You don't get how that _feels_ Ice Queen. It's like that one secret you've been keeping for years, that one thing you could never tell anyone 'cause they wouldn't understand…suddenly, it's just all gone." Emma said through a cracked, bleak voice. She'd been waitin' her whole life for her parents to come to something important to her, and she'd always thought, maybe not today, but when I graduate they will. Both of 'em, and it'll be great. And to have that stolen from her, after so many years of hope…it was horrible. So you can imagine her anger when she heard Ariel give a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, laugh at the little blonde country gal. 'S not like what she says means anythin' anyway." The blonde bitterly said, her anger seeping into her voice. A faintly amused smile reached onto Ariel's lips, as she shook her head at the teenager.

"I'm not laughing at you honey." Ariel explained, the faintly amused smile still there on her lips. "I'm _laughing _because I know what it's like to have a secret, something that you can't tell anyone else about, a secret so big that it means everything to you…and one day have that secret smashed to pieces. I'm sure Harmony has told you how I became human, right?" Ariel said, her faintly amused smile still there, but there was a tiny ounce of pain in it, as though talking about this hurt.

"Kinda, but idk what that's gotta do with anythin'…"

"When I was sixteen, I had a secret grotto, filled top to bottom with things I'd rescued from probably hundreds of shipwrecks…human things, to be exact. My father…him and I didn't really see eye to eye on humans…he thought they were dangerous barbarians…I thought that people who could make such wonderful things couldn't be bad. He eventually found out about my secret grotto…my home away from home …and destroyed everything within it. Top to bottom, everything was melted, crushed, smashed…all together destroyed." Here, Ariel broke off, rather painfully, as she tried to steady herself to keep from crying. That was more than sixteen years ago…and yet; it still felt like an open wound filled with salt.

Emma sat in a stunned silence, unable to move or say a word to Ice Queen about this. So…the Queen that never had a thing go wrong in her life (excepting Kat, but then again, it was _Kat_)…_did_ actually have things go wrong in her life. She…she knew what it was like, to have that aching pain that felt like…like…like someone was pouring salt into an open wound. Suddenly a flurry of hot tears surrounded the girl's vision, and with a muffled sob, she buried her head into her knees.

"'S not f-fair…'s just no-not fair." The girl sobbed, making sure they were muffled enough so that hopefully Ice Queen didn't hear 'em. She felt Ice Queen lift up her chin, and smooth out her blonde hair, before straightening up with a slight grimace.

"Trust me on this one dear; crying and sudden decisions to do reckless things don't help." Ariel started gently, lifting the girl's chin again so that the child would actually look her in the eyes. "You just have to…you just have to accept it, and," here a slightly, sly smile reached Ariel's lips, as she raised her brows in amusement, "I probably shouldn't be saying this, but, start planning how you're going to get them back for this."

Yes, she might be a Queen on land, a Princess in Atlantica, and be a mother….but Ariel knew more than anyone that in a situation like this, sometimes the best way to heal was to get revenge. Not anything full scale like Morgana, or Ursula, oh no, but something small to drive your parents to the edge. After all, that's what Harmony had done after Eric and Ariel found that her hideaway place was on the roof, and had the trap-door-kind-of-thing welded shut.

Emma sniffled miserably, nodding as she wiped away at her eyes once again. She didn't know whether to trust Ice Queen or not, but in a small way, talking to the woman had helped. Sort of. So now, there was only one more thing to do.

"This…this talking thing…it doesn't mean…it doesn't mean that we're…we're friends or anything, right? I mean, I still don't like you, and you still don't like me, right? Are we still…enemies?" Emma wondered, hoping for things to be that way still. It was weird enough having a conversation with Ice Queen without one of them insulting the other every ten seconds.

"Of course." Ariel said, managing only to find a faint smile at the teens words. Ah, to be so young, and so naïve. Youth is wasted on the young though, as they say. "We'll go back to nearly breaking each other's necks the moment you come out of here. And I think you'd want to fix yourself up a little before you decide to come out." Ariel said faintly smiling still, lifting up the hem of her dress even more than it already was because this place was filthy, and walking towards the door…before she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey Ice Queen?" Emma's voice called from the stall, still muffled with tears. Ariel spun around, her brows raised high.

"Yes?"

"Thanks."


	138. Adopted Nightmare

"Hey Mom. How's Em?" They were the first words out of Harmony's mouth, as she saw that somehow or another her mother had slipped next to her father, intertwined his hand with his, and was saying something to him in too low a tone for any of the teenagers to understand. Upon hearing Harmony's question though, Ariel's head perked up, and a small smile graced her lips.

"She's fine. Just a little upset at the moment, but she'll live." The redheaded Queen said with a laugh, mostly to herself, before looking back at her daughter with a sigh. Amazingly, the crowd of teens and parents was starting to thin out, most people going to their cars. "Oh honey, I don't think you can realize just how proud your father and I are of you." Ariel said with a bittersweet smile. She'd never really taken much of an interest in Harmony's other world…and now, she was regretting it, big time.

"Your mother's right Harm." Eric said with a smile towards his oldest daughter. "We're _all_ proud of you. You were worth the money we paid to get you and your sister." Eric said with a chuckle, despite his wife's playful slap on his arm, and his two daughters groans. It was a common joke that Eric said to his daughters, that he had bought them from a store. As a child, Melody had adored the joke. As a young woman with a baby at home, she thought it was practically the cheesiest thing she'd ever heard. Her twin agreed whole heartedly.

"Maybe there's still time to return them. You think that store'll take back damaged goods?" John said with a devilish smile that almost made Harmony's heart drop to her knees.

"I don't think you can return 'em when they're this broken." Coral teased her older cousins, who shot her matching scowls at that. It was bad enough to be teased by their father…and Harmony's almost-husband…but to take that from a cousin who was a year younger than them? It was almost too horrible to comprehend.

"Shut up." The twins said at the same time, their voices almost matching to a certain degree.

"The girls are right." Ariel scolded everyone in a motherly manner. "That joke is mean and you….Harmony?" The Queen suddenly broke off from her original train of thought, as she saw her oldest daughter standing stock still, almost frozen, and clutching onto John as though he was a life boat and she couldn't swim. Following the girl's gaze, the entire group's eyes fell onto two people.

There was a man and a woman, standing about two feet apart, enough space to show that they weren't close to one another, but they definitely did know the each other. The woman was plain looking, with a sharp nose that was the only feature of herself that jutted out from her otherwise flat face. The man, on the other hand, had a bulbous nose, and a scrunched up face that could remind someone of a bull dog.

"Oh shit." Melody said, blinking in shock as she realized who these people were. She remembered being fourteen…the hospital smelled like death…the needle felt too sharp…her sister was in a coma…they wanted to just leave off Harmony to die…oh, Melody knew these people all too well.

"J-J-Janice…and Au-Au-Austin…" Harmony whispered, clutching onto her boyfriend tighter than before. It was the first time anyone had really ever seen Harmony so terrified of someone else. And that's when the realization of who these people dawned on the family…and immediately they snapped into action.

John wrapped his arms protectively over Harmony, holding her close to his own warm body, but still keeping a hard expression towards the two people. Both Melody and Coral crossed their arms in front of their chests, quite literally ready to kill. And Eric and Ariel stepped forward, their expressions like ice.

"Who're ya'll?" It was Austin that asked the question, his voice sounding more than tipsy as he stared down both Ariel and Eric, who didn't even blink.

"_We're_," Eric drawled out in an icy voice, to make sure this man understood that he meant him and his wife. "Harmony's parents." It took a lot for Eric to get angry, it really did. Him and his oldest daughter shared the same type of temper; that is, it took a lot for fury to rise in them, but when it did, oh boy, you better run for cover.

"We'll _we're_ _Katherine's_legal guardians." Janice drawled out in a rather drunk voice towards Eric. It took everything and more inside of Ariel for the woman not to snap and beat the living crap out of this woman. If she thought the only two people in the world she could ever hate were Morgana and Ursula, oh, she had been dreadfully wrong.

"And?" Melody asked from behind, her own anger, which took after her mother's boiling like a teapot on a stove. Though a young mother, she was a mother none the less. She _knew_ she would kill the bitch who dared lay a hand on her son, her beautiful baby boy. And to know that her own sister, her own twin, her other half, had been beaten as a child because of these people? Well, combine that anger with the anger that stemmed from if anyone ever hurt her child, and you had a deadly combination.

"Do you have something else to say?" Coral questioned, as icy as her Aunt and Uncle. When she'd told her mother about the video which had recorded Harmony being beaten, her screams of pain, and her bruised, battered, pained, and sobbing body hours later…well, first Attina had pressed one hand over her heart, and another over her mouth. Then she'd hugged Coral so tightly that the girl could hardly breathe. And then, she'd buried her face into Coral's then-long-hair, and the girl couldn't be sure, but she'd thought she heard a sob coming from her mother. For someone to hurt not only her cousin and mother, but her entire _family _in such a way, Coral held nothing but hatred.

"Well?" John questioned in a hard voice, and on the inside he was about as rattled as a pinball machine. He was always able to keep calm, in even the worst situations…but not in this one. If someone hurt Harmony, even if it was in the past, they had hurt him. Every scream in that tape had pierced through his heart like a sword when he'd realized he couldn't do a thing about it. If it wasn't for the fact that Harmony needed him more at the moment, he would have reached out for both Janice and Austin's necks and killed them.

"Is this conversation going to go any further?" Ariel asked in a voice that could have cut through steel, and then all assorted jewels that lay in her crown, and finally could have shattered diamonds, all in one single blow. Even _Eric_ gave a slight, barely noticeable wince at his wife's tone. No one, absolutely _**no one**_, hurt her daughter so horribly.

"Wha-What are you doing here?" Kathy finally asked, trying to free herself of John's arms, but finding it impossible. Her knees felt weak, her throat felt dry; this was all her worst nightmares put together. Seeing Janice and Austin again…the memories just kept throwing themselves at the girl.

"Just wanted to see if it were true; that you were gonna graduate from high school. Thought you'da dropped out a lo-ong time ago." Janice drawled out her words, , though a little woozily. She was drunk, Harmony realized, after so many years of seeing it. They both were. That crystal fire that Harmony was so famous for lit up her hands, which were now balled into fists of anger. She wasn't a child any longer; she was a young woman. She wouldn't be bullied by them any longer.

"'Course, we ain't never thought you'd make it pass ninth grade, considerin' how stupid you were." Austin laughed, not one of those evil villain laughs, but just a regular laugh.

Because they weren't villains, Harmony's mind put together. They weren't some crazy evil villains that were after control of the oceans, or the world, or anything else. They were just a normal people, who got mixed into some bad stuff, and took out their failures on their kids. If she hurt them…it would just be like what Ariel had once said, fighting fire with fire. At the time, the girl had been fourteen, and angry at her mother for some reason that she couldn't quite recall. She'd been too young to understand the big picture, to understand her mother's reasoning behind it. But…yes, but…she did now. The flames disappeared from her hands, kind of like how the crowd had disappeared from the field, and the girl just stared at Austin and Janice for a moment, before finally breaking free of John's arms, and shaking her head at them.

"You know what? I'm not gonna fight fire with fire. Just 'cause you beat me, I'm not going to do the same to you." The girl asked them, her former weakness gone. Why had she been so scared? They couldn't hurt her. Her family was here, to protect her. They wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Ya'll can call me stupid, but even in your drunk minds you know your only here 'cause your jealous. Why? 'Cause ya'll can say whatcha want, but in the end of the day, _I _get to be happy, _I_ get to have a family who's proud of me, loves me, and will do anythin' to protect me, and _I_ get to live in a castle that's twice the size of a football field. So ya'll can go suck it." Harmony said triumphantly, and for once, she felt that way. Janice and Austin, even though drunk, looked stunned. Never once had Kathy been this way with them!

"Stupid ginger-r-r…" Austin drawled out in a drunk voice. It just so happened that Janice went to the same bar he did, and after a few beers, some scotch, and a whiskey or two the man and woman had convinced themselves that they _had_ to go down to the high school and find out if Kathy graduated. And that is why, they were here now.

"I'm sorry, did you just call my daughter a 'stupid ginger'?" Eric questioned, slowly with raised black brows towards this man. Austin gave a thick nod, rather snarkily in Eric's opinion.

"Yeah? Whatcha, Whatcha gonna do 'bout it?" Austin asked with a drunk laugh. Eric gave an incredulous chuckle at that.

"What am _I_ going to do about it?" Eric asked, his voice on the edge of murder and…no, just more murder. Austin nodded thickly again, taking a swig from his flask in the process. Eric had a flash, a memory in his mind, of the tape. Of drunken voices calling out, of his daughter's screams of pain, and terror…

And that is why, his fist balled up so tightly that nothing could have undone it, and he swung his arm around, connecting his fist with the man's eye in a rather harsh impact. Janice gave a screech in shock, Ariel had a slightly amused look on her features, Melody smirked triumphantly, Coral gave a gasp and then laugh, John looked pleased, and Harmony covered her open mouth with her hand…trying to hold back her incredulous laugh. But the girl's parents weren't done yet. Oh no.

"Darling?" Eric asked, extending his hand towards his wife. For a moment, Ariel seemed to debate the issue in her mind, before she smiled wickedly, and accepted her husband's hand. Her own fist balled up in years worth of fury, and without a single misstep, she swung her own arm around, and connected her fist with Janice's nose, pretty damn hard for a woman who believed in peace, not war. Now both Austin and Janice had fallen backwards on the grass, and in their incredulous state, they stayed there, dumbfounded for a moment, before drunkenly picking themselves back up and tottering uncertainly towards their cars.

"Uncle Eric, Aunt Ariel, that. Was. AWESOME!" Coral screeched, her green eyes wide and mouth open in shock. Ariel was rubbing her sore fist gently, and Eric had wrapped his arm around his wife, somewhat amused by Coral's reaction.

"Mother, that was amazing! I didn't know you could do that!" Melody said with a light in her eyes, acting more like a teenage girl with no worries than a young mother.

"Dude, that was _epic_! I mean, did you see that punch? It was like, BAM! And then he was all like 'huh, what' and then it was like, BOOM! And she was like, freaking out! Aw man, that was _sweet_!" John raved in a completely awed voice, his eyes filled with incredulousness.

"It was pretty cool." Harmony drawled out in her southern accent, agreeing with the other raving teens. "Plus, now when I beat the crap outa someone, you guys can't say nothin' to me about it 'cause you just did!" Harmony said triumphantly, though her parents only raised their brows at her.

"That," Ariel said slowly, making sure her daughter heard her words clearly. "Was a special circumstance…and it's not like that bitch didn't have it coming..." Ariel's voice was starting to turn into muttering, and most of the muttering was directed towards herself as she rubbed her now slightly bruised knuckle. She agreed that violence was not the answer to all problems…but if someone like that hurt her daughter so horribly, and ruined the child's hopes and dreams…well…then violence was acceptable.

"What your mother means Harm, is to leave things like this up to _us_, and _don't _take it into your own hands. We're more than capable to…_deal_ with these types of situations. Understand?" Eric explained to his daughter, making sure the girl understood perfectly. That ass Austin had a sucker punch coming, and Eric had been more than happy to be the one to supply it, but that didn't mean that he needed his teenage daughter using this as an excuse for misbehavior.

"Yeah, I get it. But thanks anyway for hitting 'em…you know, it feels pretty good to see _them_ get hurt, instead of them hurting _me_." There was a slightly pained, slightly triumphant, and slightly happy smile on Harmony's lips at that, as she looked up at both her parents who only exchanged one tiny amused glance with another.

"Think nothing of it honey." Ariel said, wary but still just the tiniest bit amused out of all of this. However, her amusement left her for panic when she realized how long she must have spent in this world. "Oh Neptune, I almost forgot! The wedding! We're going to be late!" Now everyone Harmony was panicked, thinking about how they were going to be late to the wedding.

"Harmony, can you get us all back to Shireland?" Eric asked, as his wife and other daughter started panicking and talking at absurdly fast paces on what was going to happen if they were late. Harmony shrugged.

"Depends."

"Depends? Depends on what? Harmony, I can't be seen going to my own sister's wedding late! Gah, and I still need to change; this dress is so last season!" Melody freaked out. She was always in the public eye; if she was seen going to her sister's wedding late, or in last seasons dress, she'd be humiliated for the rest of her life!

"So what does it depend on?" Coral asked frantically. She might not want Harmony to get married, but she wasn't going to be late to this wedding. There were cute boys attending after all!  
"Depends on whether you want extra arms—or maybe an eye or two. And if you want a bride who'll be knocked out throughout the entire wedding. It's next to impossible for me to get _all_ of you guys back without those side effects; I'm still a little shifty on my switching-worlds-in-a-big-group technique, ya know?" The witch answered without blinking, calm and composed, though inside of her was a panicked child. But just seeing her families frantic looks at that—even John and Coral at being left in this world alone—the girl continued on with her sentence. "But I _do_ know a shortcut to get back to Shireland."

"Then use let's use it. Crap, if I'm late to my own wedding, my mom will skin me _alive_." John said, giving a slight shudder as he knew that literally, his mother would do such a thing. Getting affirmative nods from the rest of her family to use this shortcut, a smile twitched at Harmony's lips.

"Okay then." The girl said, in a slightly upbeat tone, before grinning. "But, I'm driving."


	139. Reckless Driving

"Harmony, sweetheart, you know I love you, but can you slow down, _please_?" Ariel begged, feeling her stomach lurch heavily as Harmony braked suddenly, and then pressed back down on the accelerator.

"Mom, I'm only going 70." Harmony commented, not daring to take her eyes off the road, as she swung her truck—hard mind you—into an old trail in the woods. "I go _way_ faster than this when I'm drag racing, or when I'm late to school," The teenager commented again, letting her old truck go over the familiar bumps of the dirt road, fast. John was sharing shotgun with Coral, both of them shoving one another to gain more space. Melody, Ariel, and Eric filled up the backseats of the truck, and it seemed all three of them were expecting to die from how fast Harmony was driving.

"It's true. She goes _way _faster than this when she's racing." John said easily, pinching Coral, who in turn, slapped his arm. The both of them didn't want to be sharing shotgun, but it was either this, or ride in the very back of the truck, and with the way Harmony was driving, neither of them wanted to go to the back of the truck.

"You _race_?" Eric spluttered out, making his daughter stiffen, as she realized what she and Jonathan had said. She would have sunk down in her seat if it hadn't been for the fact she was driving.

"Not much." The girl answered meekly, knowing she'd been caught in her own trap. She shot a look at Coral when the girl gave a snort, to try and shut her cousin up, but Coral seemingly didn't care.

"Please. She's tearin' up streets with like, ten other guys, any given weekend night." Coral snorted, much to her cousin's chagrin, as the teenage witch raced through the forest at an incredibly dangerous speed. If an animal came in the way any time soon, it would be no match for the girl's truck.

"Ten other guys?" Melody smirked for a moment, before twisting her face into a grimace as she felt Harmony give a sharp brake, as if in reproach to her sister's words, before continuing on.

"Harmony Althea Benson, I swear, when we get back to the palace I'm going to—AH!" Ariel, and it seemed everyone else but Harmony gave a loud scream in terror, as young witch made a sharp turn, and her wheels skidded a moment, before the girl was once again hurling through the forest.

"Sorry!" The girl called back over her shoulder to her family, who was now paler than pale. Ariel was clutching to her husband's arm in fear, Eric's blue eyes were panicked, and Melody had wrapped her hands around her seat belt, convinced that they were going to crash. Even John and Coral seemed pretty shaken, as they swallowed once or twice in fear.

"Maybe you should slow down Harm. I'd rather get to the wedding late than not arrive at all." Eric said, pretty panicked and wide eyed in his terror. If it hadn't been for the fact Ariel was almost sure her daughter would be the literal death of her, she would have poked fun at how her husband looked. After all, the last time she'd seen him so scared of speed is when he handed _her_ the reins on their first unofficial date together. Ariel _still_ wasn't allowed anywhere near the reigns.

"Your father has a point Harmony…a point which I really think you should consider!" Ariel panicked, clutching her husband's arm even tighter than before when the car went over a bump in the dirt road path of the forest. Harmony turned around in her seat, momentarily taking her eyes off the road so that she could smirk at her frantic parents.

"I've been driving for the past three years now Mother, and I'm still in one piec—"

"KEEP YOUR FREAKING EYES ON THE ROAD!" Melody screeched like a banshee at the top of her lungs when it finally hit her that at 70 miles per hour, Harmony had taken a moment to look behind her at her parents. Already, the raven haired princess was thinking about how devastated her husband would be when he found out Harmony had killed them all. Harmony whirled around back to the driver's position in the front seat, but upon noticing that there was nothing wrong, she let her shoulders relax slightly.

"If I die, tell my brother that he _**cannot**_ have my iPod, okay?" Coral nervously joked, her fingers playing with the hem of the short graduation dress she'd borrowed from Harmony's wardrobe.

"Only if you tell my family to go screw themselves if I die." John answered nervously back. He'd gone fast in the car with Harmony, yes, of course, but never this fast through the shortcut. Still, if he died, then the wedding would be called off. That was one good thing about death. Coral eyed John warily for a moment, before pinching him smartly on the arm.

"Deal, and move over!" The girl cried out, pinching him again. John was too lazy to move though, so instead, he shoved Coral the other way, which made the girl shove him back. The teenagers were so wrapped up in their mini war that they hardly noticed it when Harmony yelled.

"Hang on!" The girl screeched, wrapping her fingers even tighter against the steering wheel. She pushed on the accelerator even harder, causing shrieks from her family that she didn't have time to get. To them, she was going straight into the trees! At this speed, she'd kill them all! They closed their eyes, screaming (well, okay, maybe only Ariel and Melody screamed; Coral and John were used to the shortcut by now, and Eric would never admit he screamed like a little girl after punching out Austin) at the top of their lungs, preparing to die, as Harmony drove her car straight into the trees and…

Ariel opened one eye, cautiously, before she realized that the car was still moving, and she was alive, in one piece. She slowly disentangled herself from Eric, and let both her eyes open now. They were still in the woods, yes, but something felt different about these woods.

"You should've all seen your faces. You were pretty freaked." Harmony commented calmly, as she saw her mother, sister, and father open their previously closed eyes and stare in wonder at the girl. John and Coral smirked, though on the inside they too were a little relieved that at the speed they had been going at, they weren't entangled in the trees.

"What just…what just happened?" Melody asked, stunned. Harmony was still going at a dangerously fast speed, but somehow the atmosphere in the car seemed calmer, as though it wasn't so bad anymore.

"What was just passed through," Harmony said, one side of her lips curling up in amusement. "Was a portal, from Nebraska, to here, Shireland. I set it up the minute I could drive, 'cause I knew I was gonna need to use it, _a lot_. How else do you think we all make curfew when I'm buzzed? Usually, I just park it over there," Harmony nodded in the direction of a tiny, cleared out space just big enough for her truck, "and since no one ever comes this deep in the woods, it's perfect. And the portal only works with _my_ truck going through it, so…yeah. Cool, isn't it?" The girl said easily, still racing through the forest at an amazing speed.

"Uh huh." Eric and Ariel could only nod in shock, blinking rapidly as they let all that information pass through their minds. So their daughter hadn't been trying to kill them all; she just wanted to go through the portal thing. Which, while on the subject, they should really talk to Harmony about because if on the off chance someone found her truck here in the forest, and somehow managed to ride it through the portal, they'd all be doomed.

"Where're we goin'?" John asked, his face showing little surprise as Harmony zipped through the forest. Usually the girl just parked her truck, and then used her strange power of communicating with _Prince_ Brisinger to get him to come to the forest to pick 'em all up. Obviously, they couldn't drive this truck into town without causing quite a stir…so then where was Harmony going?  
"Your going the back way, aren't you? Because if you are, then you need to turn here. It's a shorter path to the palace." Melody finally spoke, pointing out the path to her sister. Though both paths would lead to the back entrance of the palace, and skip going through the town entirely, the left was at least twenty minutes shorter. But the girl only got strange looks from her family at her knowledge. "What?" Melody defended herself.

"Harmony isn't the _only_ one who needed to make curfew."


	140. The Final Touches

never tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

"Finally! You're ready!" Melody's steady voice chirped, adjusting her sister's tiara slightly in a fussy manner. The final product of her sister in her wedding gown…was absolutely ravishing. No one could ever tell that just an hour before the girl had skidded her car into the back entrance of the palace, and then somehow managed to get _on_ the wedding barge before it departed. Thankfully, no one had noticed, not even the Queen of Westland, who had made it clear that she should help her son get ready for the wedding, because Ariel and Melody had Harmony in control.

"Almost." Ariel's voice called out of nowhere, appearing just behind Harmony, who was sitting in the dressing room's vanity chair. Yes, _sitting_. After many, many, many pinches, and reproaches, Ariel finally had gotten the girl to sit up for once. It was nothing short of a miracle. "There's just one final touch…" Shireland's Queen, but more importantly Harmony's mother trailed off. The girl was immediately on alert. When her mother said 'there's just one final…' that usually meant there was something the teenager wouldn't like in store for her soon.

A gold necklace was suddenly draped over her neck, showing over her wedding gown. It was a small, simple thing, nothing too over the top like the girl had predicted. Or was it? The one, tiny pendant on the necklace finally stopped spinning around in little circles, and settled itself against the whiteness of the dress. And that's when Harmony realized what this necklace was.

"Wha-Wha…ho-how…?" Harmony let her rough fingers trace the pendant, unmistakable awe in her tone. It was the #1 Sister pendant that the girl was so famous for always wearing that her mother had draped across her neck. She'd thought it had been lost when she'd gone in the fire…when she'd seen Ryan standing there, in her hallucinations…she'd thought that had been a sigh that it had fallen, or something had happened to it…so then why the hell did Ariel have it?

Melody, upon realizing that this was more or less something for her sister and mother to talk about alone, went on a quest to find her younger cousin. Unbeknownst to Harmony or Ariel, when she turned around to look for her cousin in the suite of a dressing room, swiped the redheaded teenager's phone.  
"When you ran into the schoolhouse, John grabbed it accidentally and the clasp broke." Ariel cleared up, seeing her daughter's emotions run across her face like a waterfall. "I tried to have it fixed for you…but the chain was broken beyond repair…so I had it set in a new one…and I had the pendant cleaned up a little." Harmony's eyes were filling with tears at the thought of her brother, though the girl was digging her nails into her wrist so that they didn't fall down her face like a freaking baby. But Ariel took this as something else.

"I put the original chain in a safe place for you, sweetie." The woman said hesitantly. "And it's not a completely different necklace…it's just a little change…I mean…" Ariel trialed off, biting her lip. She'd thought maybe by getting the girl a new chain and cleaning up the old pendant on the necklace that her daughter would be thrilled. But, maybe in hindsight that hadn't been such a great idea. After all…it was one of the last things the girl had to remember her deceased brother…

"My freakin' _gawd_." Harmony said, her shock and awe still not ebbed away in the slightest. "I tho-thought the fire had…bu-but why would you…why would you…I mean…I al-always thought that you didn't _care_…" Harmony managed to choke out in her shock, her blue eyes wide with shock still as she stared at her mother through the mirror. Ariel looked highly offended, and slightly hurt at that.

"Honey, your brother is as much a part of your life as your father and I are. Why wouldn't I care?" Ariel asked her tone slightly bewildered at that. Harmony's expression morphed from shock and awe, to hurt, to wondering, and to everything in between, before a tear rolled down the girl's face. She wiped it off with her arm just as soon as it had come.

"Fuck, here comes the waterworks." The girl cursed, wiping at her other eye with a sort of gasp-laugh. "My gawd, I mi-miss that stupid jackass so much…I wish he-he could've seen me today…th-thanks for makin' this necklace pretty again Mom…you have no frickin' idea how much it means to me…" The girl trailed off, wiping at the rest of her tears quickly with the back of her arm.

"You know what means a lot to _me_? There are literally a gazillion cute single boys out there, and you, little miss bride, are taking forever in here, and because of that, other girls are gonna snap them up before I do, so let's move it 'coz!" Coral said, dramatically flopping down on the floor, with her maid-of-honor dress spread out.

"Harmony was acting normal for once, but leave it to you Coral to ruin it all." Melody said with an eye roll towards her cousin, stepping carefully over the girl's dress so that she could reach the bassinet she'd placed Brendon in. She'd known the baby would tire out early in the evening, so what better place to put the sleeping 5 month old than in a bassinet in the dressing room? At least then he'd be far from the noise and he could sleep peacefully.

"For once? Wait, are you saying I'm not normal?" Harmony asked in mock surprise, pushing the vanity chair away from herself and getting up so that she could walk closer to her sister. "_I_ am the definition of normal, I'm so normal in fact that I—whoa!" The girl suddenly lost her balance on the heels her mother insisted she wear, and when she tried at the last desperate minute to regain it, her clumsy feet tripped over the long hemline of her wedding gown…causing her to go face forward onto the floor.

"Ow." The girl complained, using her arms to raise her up. Floor 1, Harmony 0. Well, that was rather embarrassing.

"Harmony Althea Benson, you've got exactly two more minutes until you have to walk down that aisle…could you please be more careful? _Please_?" Ariel begged, pulling up her daughter back onto her two feet. Honestly, the girl is about to get married, and instead of freaking out, she's tripping over her two feet!

"It's not like I _planned_ to trip Mom. These heels are just so—" Harmony's whine was cut off by her sister, who was adjusting her grip on the baby boy who was starting to wake, and be just a tiny bit fussy.

"What's that on the floor?" Melody interrupted, peering uncertainly at the tiny smashed object that had apparently been crush when Harmony had tripped. "Brendon, stop it! That's my hair!" The young mother cried out, as her baby started to pull on her dark locks. The boy giggled happily as his mouth opening up to reveal a rather adorable gum tooth smile at his mother, who moved him out of her long hair's reach.

"It's a bird, it's a plane, it's—" Coral laughed, sitting up from her sprawled position from the floor and snatching up the tiny crushed object. Her laugh subsided when she finally opened the object and found out what exactly it was. "It's Harmony's contacts." The girl said with dread in her voice. Her Aunt Ariel quickly snatched up the box in her niece's hand, and studied the liquid contents within it before coming to the same realization.

"Your contacts!" The woman shrieked, panicked now as she thrust the case out towards her daughter. "Fix it, hurry!" Ariel ordered, before bringing the pitiful excuse of a nail to her mouth to chew on. "Oh there's no time for something like this to happen…there's just no time…the wedding is about to begin and—"

Suddenly, there was an unsure knock at the dressing room door, and Eric's slightly worried voice came from the outside of that door.

"It's time for the wedding to start." Eric said cautiously, knowing he could be walking right into a pit of fire. Never get in the way of women…life was way too short for that. And thankfully, he wasn't inside the dressing room, because if he had been, he would have certainly had to face Ariel's panic-turned-to-wrath.

"I can't fix it _now_ Mom. I have to look for the spell, then I have to figure out how to do it—that that's if I don't need any special ingredients for it—and then I have to fix it, which is going to take a lot of concentration, so might be woozy for awhile. I'll have to wear my glasses; and no, I can't put a glamour on them because there isn't enough time to make a good one." Harmony said confidently, but there was still a slight unease to her words as she leaned away from her mother, and closer to her cousin. Ariel wouldn't hurt her niece…right?

"Glasses!" Ariel nearly screamed. Thankfully, Melody had clamped a firm hand around her son's ears, to keep him from crying. Harmony and Coral exchanged uneasy looks. "I let you choose what wedding dress you wanted to wear. I let you skip all the planning and preparation details. I let you slide when you cut off you beautiful long red hair. I let you graduate in Nebraska, and then nearly kill me in that driving thing. But I am _**not**_, do you hear me young lady, _**not **_going to let you wear glasses to your wedding!" Ariel's voice shrieked at her daughter, who in turn used her cousin as a human shield.

There was another knock at the door, this time louder as Eric tapped his foot and cleared his throat impatiently for his wife, daughters, and young niece. All four women turned their heads toward the door, before looking back at one another. Harmony kept using her cousin as a shield, Coral was too scared to move, and Melody…well, what _was_ Melody doing?

"Mother, there isn't enough time to debate this; the wedding is going to start with or without Harmony, and I think it would be pretty awful to have a wedding but no bride…again. Her contacts are crushed, she can't fix them right now, and the only way she'll be able to _see_ the aisle is if she wears her glasses. You have to let her!" Melody stepped in for her sister, pleading with her mother to understand. Stepping forward so that she was next to her cousin and sister, she let her face morph into a pout, and slipped the girl's phone back to her with a slight wink to her sister as though saying I-got-your-back.

"I guess I have no choice then." Ariel said with a sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Alright; wear your glasses." I can't have you tripping all over yourself—well, more than usual anyway—because you can't see baby. The motherly side of Ariel piped up, as her daughter nodded slightly, and pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. She'd told her mother she would put on her contacts when she heard her father knock on the door…yeah, maybe not the smartest idea now in hindsight.

"I think Uncle Eric is starting to get impatient." Coral said, her eyes darting towards the door where her Uncle was still knocking and getting no response from within. "I think we should go…after all, there are a least a hundred single cute single boys out there…"

"Which _you're_ going to stay away from." Ariel reminded the teenager. Ignoring her niece's protests at that, she pushed the girl forward towards the door. Melody gave her sister a comforting squeeze on her hand, before walking towards the door too, Brendon contentedly resting his head against her mother's chest.

Alone in the dressing room for a moment, Harmony's eyes darted towards the mirror, as she quickly, and nervously, pulled a brush through her short choppy locks. She made sure there were absolutely no marks on her face. She checked her pearl white teeth to make sure that there was nothing in them, though she hadn't eaten a morsel all day because she'd been too nervous. She pushed her short hair forward, than back, than forward again, trying to figure out which way it looked better. She ran her fingers down her scarred arms, which would have no glamour today, because today, she didn't want to hide; she wanted to prove that she'd overcome. She fingered the gold pendant gently, before bringing it up to her lips and kissing it softly. She pushed her glasses up her nose, and then down again, cursing herself mentally for breaking her contacts at the worst possible moment and making her wear these non-flattering glasses. She moved her strapless dress up, than down, than up, than down. She looked at herself again in the mirror, before her blue eyes grew wide as she realized her tiara was tilted slightly. She moved it this way, and that way, the right way, and the left way, the up way, and the—

"Let me." A voice from behind said, taking the girl's tiara off her head for a moment, smoothing out the girl's red short locks, and then placing the sparkling diamond and jeweled tiara back on the girl's head. Gently, she started to adjust the girl's dress, which in Harmony's panic had been pushed far too down.

"Mom?" Harmony's dubious voice asked in shock. "Didn't you just—I heard the door—but how could—huh?" The teenager wondered, blinking hard in her confusion. Ariel merely smiled.

"Honey, I'm your mother. I knew that when no one was looking you'd touch up on the million different things that you think aren't in place." Ariel said, smiling still. She'd known it was only a matter of time…and when Harmony hadn't come out of the dressing room, she'd sent everyone ahead, saying the girl probably lost something and was looking for it, knowing for sure the girl would be freaking out.

"Thanks Mom." Harmony managed to say, trying to hold down her tears. After so much fighting, frustration, hurt, and horror that her and her mother had been through in the past three years (not to mention the last five minutes), Ariel _still_ made sure that her daughter knew how much she supported her, like all mother should. She made sure that her daughter was happy…even if it was against her better judgment. Happy…the word struck a chord in the teen. Once upon a night, a fourteen year old heartbroken girl had wished upon a star, wanting her happiness back. Had she gotten her wish right away, in the long run? No. But, had it finally come to stay? Hell yes to infinity and whatever may lay beyond.

"No problem sweetie." Ariel answered with another warm smile, before finally getting the girl's strapless dress to be appropriate. "There. Beautiful." The mother said, watching with nostalgic eyes as her daughter turned around and did a double take when she saw her reflection in the mirror. For once…in so long…Harmony was feeling like an actual Princess. But not the Princess everyone expected her to be…no…she felt like her own Princess, the kind that doesn't mind to get scraped up, lacks grace, and still acts like a regular teenage girl who's obsessed with the latest teen idol.

"The dress _is_ really great." Harmony said, softly running her hands along the bodice of the expensive dress. The lace on the top flowed beautifully down to the folded over part of the dress, that was held in place by a an array of appliqués, that trailed downwards on the side of the skirt, before letting it blossom out fully. It was like…like that girl from the video, who'd never gotten a chance to wear the pink dress that this one was styled after, would finally be wearing it.

Ariel smiled even more warmly in seemed in the direction of her glowing daughter. Her baby girl, wrapped in pink swaddling and with those huge, hypnotic blue eyes that mirrored her mother's, was now wearing a wedding dress, and was a woman. She kissed the girl's forehead lovingly then, holding back her own tears at how wonderful her daughter looked at the moment.

"I wasn't talking about the dress sweetie."


	141. A Unique Wedding Ceremony

"Harmony, you look beautiful." Eric appraised of his daughter, finally seeing her in her wedding dress. Ariel had tried to explain to him what it looked like, but after two minutes he'd zoned out, because explaining clothes to him was like explaining what the words 'it's impossible' was to Ariel. But now, finally seeing his daughter wearing such a beautiful gown…she looked ravishing.

"Thanks Dad." Harmony answered, turning slightly pink at the praise. "I just hope John thinks so too…"

"He will Harm, don't worry." Eric assured, to his daughter, who nodded to show that she had listened to him, but she offered up no comment to her father as she heard The Wedding March begin to play. As the people started to walk out of the shadows, and it was starting to get emptier, and emptier, Harmony was starting to feel a bad case of the nerves. Even from the shadows Harmony could see people standing up in respect of the Princess bride, and start craning their necks to catch a glimpse of her.

"Nervous?" Eric murmured quietly; only quiet enough for Harmony to hear, as she walked out onto the aisle with her father. She heard the shocked gasps of the crowd as they saw her short locks for the first time, and saw her in her glasses. Her knees felt wobbly, and John seemed far away, but she forced herself to stand up straight, and keep talking to her father. Just focus on the conversation; don't pay attention to anyone else Harmony, the girl told herself. She'd made an entire speech just a few hours before at her school…so she shouldn't be nervous at all…right?

"Just a little." The girl said back in a controlled breath, lying through her teeth. Her heart raced like a hummingbird, and pounded louder than the drums of war. She knew she looked wonderful right now; and she could see John grinning that devilish grin at her from the altar…there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about…so then why was she?

"Everything will be fine Harmony, don't worry." Eric assured in a low tone again, as Harmony gulped, and made her head give a slight, shaking nod. She was happy, and nervous at the same time. She was smiling in glee and in terror.

"Yeah. Everythin's gonna be fine…" The girl trailed off, nervously trying to convince herself that this was going to be alright. The Wedding March was starting to slow down in tempo, and everyone had long since gotten over the shock of Harmony's haircut, and were now whispering among themselves about her beauty, or the ceremony, or both.

Suddenly, Harmony felt herself stop walking, and she knew her father had done the same. Blinking, she looked up, slightly surprised to see that she'd already made it to John. His green and black formal Prince suit looked amazing on him, and his brown hair looked like someone had tried to smooth it out, before giving up and letting him just shake it out again. Though his brown eyes still danced with mischief, and by the way he was standing Harmony knew he was nervous, the boy only fixed her a crooked, devilish grin that she so loved.

And that was it for Harmony. She nearly felt as though all her body melted like a puddle; the relief from her nerves and the happiness she felt was just too amazing. She matched his devilish crooked grin with her own, and she could see in his eyes that it was all he could do from laughing.

Turning her head, the girl, with shining eyes, looked at her father. Though she didn't speak a word, her happiness in her eyes was enough for Eric to know that this was it for him. It was time for him to give up his daughter to marriage. He smiled widely at the girl, so proud of her, so happy for her…but he knew his own wife, who was most likely watching him intently, could tell that it was a painted on smile; something to hide his broken heart that his oldest baby was grown up.

Gently disentangling his arm from his daughter's, Eric watched as John extended a hand, and Harmony took it, accepting that she'd been given off by her father, at her wedding, to her soon to be husband.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today…" The clergyman started, kicking off the ceremony. Harmony let her blue eyes wander towards John, and it was at that exact moment John did the same. Both of them caught each other's eye, but instead of breaking away and blushing, they both tried to keep themselves from laughing (**A/N **_you know, when you catch your friend's eye and the both of you start laughing for no apparent reason _:P) out loud.

"I was wonderin' if you ditched." John commented quietly—too quiet for the half death clergyman to hear—as the boy tried to keep a straight face as he stared straight ahead, into the evening sky. It was that time in between, when the sun had set, but nighttime still hadn't approached, when there was that strange bluish haze all around the earth. That was really one of the only contributions towards the wedding that Harmony and John had put forward; the timing. Neither of them wanted a sunset wedding (much to the relief of Ariel), or a day wedding when it was too hot. No, they wanted it in the evening, just before the stars came out, when the world was suddenly in a strange place.

"I wanted to, but Mom said she'd kill me if I did…and I believe her." Harmony said back, her lips pressed together tightly in an effort not to laugh. Why was she going to laugh? She didn't quite know, but she knew if she looked at John again she'd break out into laughs. Her nerves had all but gone away…somehow, just being around John calmed her down.

"That would've been fun to watch." John said back quietly with a slight smirk, thankfully facing forward so that no one could see it. Well, the clergyman could've seen it…if he wasn't so buried in the book he was reading the ceremony off of. "Why're you wearin' your glasses?" The boy asked, murmuring too quiet for even the clergyman to hear. Was it strange that during his wedding ceremony, he was talking to his soon-to-be-wife? Kind of, but he didn't care. Just because he was going to be married didn't change the fact that he was still just eighteen.

"Tripped and broke my contacts." Harmony answered just as quiet, still not daring to look at John for fear she'd break out into giggles. But John had no qualms with snorting ever so quietly, and biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud. He was trying not to laugh at her, the girl realized, though she was more or less mock angry with him for doing so. "You're a jerk." Harmony said, still looking forward, still holding her bouquet of flowers, and still trying not to laugh, though a small smile had curved onto her lips at that.

"I know." John answered with a slight grin himself, before straightening up and turning his body towards Harmony. The girl seemed surprised at this, her brow raising in a questioning manner, before John grinned that famous devilish smile at her.

"I do." Were the first two words out of his mouth. Harmony blinked in shock a moment, a bit caught off guard, before she realized they must be at the 'I do's' by now. Before the girl could think any further though, she felt John sliding on her wedding ring onto her left hand, fourth finger from the right.

"And do you, Harmony Althea Benson, take John to be your lawfully wedded husband, as long as you both shall live?" The question was proposed by the clergyman, as he looked upwards, squinting at the Princess to see her response. He was an old man, tiny, and he may not catch many things, but he wouldn't dare miss the crown Princess of Shireland say her 'I do's'.

Harmony let her red lips twitch once or twice, as she tried to hold back her giggles still. It was a little strange to be getting married, even now that she was at the ceremony. Honestly, she was only a girl of seventeen; not even old enough to drink in Shireland—though the rules were bent slightly for these types of situations, and it helped that her parents were the King and Queen. Even though she (and probably John) had doubts about being married so young, she knew she loved him, and she knew she wanted to be with him. So she said the two most dangerous words in any world.

"I do." The girl answered her eyes daring and bold as she looked back at John, and her devilish grin couldn't have been wider. She could practically hear her mother's sigh of relief at that. John grinned back at Harmony, who quickly slid the boy's wedding ring onto his finger. His brown eyes were matching her blue ones with mischief, understanding, and all around _fun_.

"…you may kiss the bride." The clergyman declared, and Harmony blinked for a moment, surprised that she'd missed the rest of him talking. She looked up at John, and bit her bottom lip. For everyone in the audience, they would think it was a sign of nerves. Only John could tell that she was still trying hard not to laugh.

Slowly, with a devilish grin still plastered across his face, he leaned in to Harmony's waiting lips, to deliver the kiss of matrimony…

"_Oh,girls, they wanna have fu-un. Oh,girls, just wanna have_…" The sudden burst of a loud song made the crowd titter in shock, and Ariel give a groan. John straightened back up, finally breaking out into peals of laughter as he realized what the sound _was_, and _where_ it was coming from. Harmony's brows furrowed for a moment, before her blue eyes grew wide.

"Shit!" The girl muttered under her breath, and without even thinking about it, dropped onto one knee, and quickly raised up her skirt, flashing her ankle towards the crowd a moment. She could've sworn they'd thought she flashed her chest at them from the way they gave shocked gasps.

Quickly, with the loud song still playing, the girl grabbed her phone from out of her now exposed converse (was that Ariel who she could hear muttering angrily under her breath?) which she'd changed quickly into in the one odd minute when Ariel wasn't looking so she wouldn't fall overboard. Her cheeks were bright red from embarrassment, Standing back up quickly, the girl looked once at the caller I.D., before her expression became annoyed.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that her sister was laughing so hard that literal tears were falling down her face, as she clutched at the Sidekick phone in her hand…the one that had _Coral_ written on the back of it. Lance, who was holding Brendon, and blinking a few times as he tried to get his head around all this.

"_Real_ mature Mel." Harmony said out loud with a snort, rolling her blue eyes. It seemed everyone whipped their heads in the direction of their former Princess Melody, who didn't bother to stop laughing. She'd finally gotten her revenge at her sister for making her cry when she was pregnant! Ha! It was incredible that she was actually able to pull this off. What with, having to swipe Harmony's phone, change the ringtone, and then the put the ringtone on the loudest it could possibly go, grab Coral's phone, and _then_ hand her sister back her phone and pretend she'd done nothing to it! Revenge was slow, but definitely fatal.

Looking back towards John could see him finally stop his laughing. He stopped clutching at his stomach finally, and stood up straight again, grinning like an idiot at Harmony.

"Sorry, evil sibling." Harmony said with a half grin, shrugging slightly as she was willing to just shake it off. Seeing John still just stand there like there was nothing to do, she raised her one eyebrow at him. "Well? You gonna kiss me, or what?" Harmony wondered, her blue eyes waiting and her lips curling into a devilish grin again.

John returned her devilish grin full force with his own signature one, and you know what? He kissed her, and she kissed him back, sealing their marriage, and letting everyone erupt in cheers. And though it was far from the ideal, prim, proper, poised, perfect wedding ceremony…Harmony was happy.

It was just right for her.


	142. The Wedding Night

**Warning: This chapter is rated PG for implied things, but there is nothing smutty about this chapter. Just implied stuff. Since most of the story should be rated R (I'm counting all the cursing!) this shouldn't be a problem for you readers, but I do want to warn you that you might not want to read this chapter where there's a small child, because then they can start asking questions and that won't be good. Just saying! Again, chapter is rated PG. **

* * *

"Jonathan Daniel Manelin, put me down! This isn't fair!" Harmony laughed, as John had picked her up bridal style and was carrying her back to her—er, _their_ room. John grinned wolfishly down at Harmony; as he kicked open her door, despite the playful warning coming from the girl that if he broke her room door she would break his face.

Despite the fact that Harmony had acted very un-princess like when she dropped on her knee and flashed her ankle and converse to the people of Shireland aboard the wedding barge, and despite the fact that John had kept on laughing and laughing which was un-prince like, everyone had seemed more than willing to forgive them. The reception had gone off without a hitch, and Harmony even got to smash a piece of cake at John…and then have John do the same to her. Melody hadn't apologized for calling her sister and embarrassing her for that one minute, but Harmony knew that now the score was even, so she didn't really have to apologize. The Westland Royals and Shireland Royals scolded both Harmony and John, and then gave up after two minutes when they realized the teens weren't listening and went on enjoying the party. Yep, it had been a pretty good day for Harmony and John…and now that the ship had made it back to Shireland's shore, both were preparing for their first night together.

"Whatever you say, _Mrs_. Manelin." John said with that signature devilish smile of his, setting down Harmony gently on her—_their_ bed. Harmony flopped backwards on the bed, still wearing her beautiful white wedding gown, and she closed her eyes and taking in the familiar cozy smell of her room. By just twitching one of her fingers, her door shut closed, startling John who had been staring at the girl's room with a mixture of awe and wonder.

"Did you draw all of this?" John's voice was full of unmistakable surprise, as Harmony had lit up the room with just another simple flick of her finger. Drawings lined the walls of the room, drawings of things John had never seen before. What seemed like a steel tower with amazing architecture and the word Eiffel Tower written under the tower, or what seemed to be like a triangle, but in the middle of the desert built of blocks, and the word Pyramid's written underneath it? And there were so much more that John couldn't begin to name how amazing they were. The detail was beyond exquisite, the lines were perfect, the colors made it seem almost real…it was truly amazing.

"Um...yeah." Harmony answered, her cheeks flushing as she moved off of her bed to stand next to John. "Dad wouldn't let me put up posters of boybands...so I just drew the places I'd like to go someday." Harmony flushed a deeper shade of red as John stared at the drawings, shaking his head at the talent Harmony had in her hand. He'd seem some of her sketches, and paintings, and so forth…but he'd never realized how truly talented his girlfriend…wife…was.

It was silent for a moment, the only sounds in the room the steady breathing of both John and Harmony. John had torn his eyes from the drawings that lined the walls, and Harmony was looking embarrassedly at the other wall in her room. Neither knew what to say. They both knew what was supposed to happen tonight...but at the same time, both of them had a right to be nervous.

"Um...why don't we sit on your...our...bed?" John said, his own features crimson as he gulped. This was _Harmony_. She was experienced in this area...John necessarily wasn't.

Harmony gave a nod, feeling awkward as she sat on the edge of the bed with John. This wasn't the bed she had used for the past three years, sleeping in with her stuffed animal happily. The new bed had been moved in this morning…so it was needless to say that Harmony felt strange in her own room.

There was another silence between the now married couple, as the new Mr. and the Mrs. awkwardly looked away from each other, sitting on the edge of the sky blue sheets that Harmony had insisted upon. The girl's stuffed animal had been moved to the nursery earlier, making Harmony mourn her lost youth for a few minutes...before blushing when Ariel had winked and said soon there'd be another who would be using it. But pushing those thoughts away, Harmony focused on the silence...and finally not being able to take it any longer, she spoke.

"John...can you keep a secret? Please?" Harmony's blue eyes were so big and pleading that John had no choice to look up and nod immediately, alert and wondering what this secret was. Harmony took in a breath, looking down at her fingers, as she bit her lip and with a pounding heart, explained. "I know that in school and stuff I've joked about doing it...but um..." Here the girl gave an off laugh, before looking back at John, swallowing deeply. "I'm...still kind of a virgin. I know you've done it and stuff...but I just wanted you to know that I never had." Of course John had done it before, he'd certainly joked about it with Matt quite a lot. Every time he'd said a word about him and another girl though, Harmony's heart had dropped to her stomach, knowing that he was experienced...and she wasn't. At all.

"Harmony..." Here John broke off, giving a surreal laugh at just the thought of this. "Harmony Katherine Althea Manelin, can you keep a secret for me too?" When Harmony nodded furious, John broke off in another laugh; wrapping has fingers with hers and flopping backwards on the bed, with Harmony in tow. "I'm still a virgin too. I made it all up Harmony; I was just trying to fit in at high school." Here John gave another incredulous laugh, as Harmony joined in this time...before, after a minute, both their laughs stopped, and they stared a bit worriedly and a lot terrified at each other.

"...how do we...you know...start things off?" Harmony asked, swallowing again, but this time more in fear than anything as she worriedly looked at John. He's about as terrified as I am, Harmony realized with awe. She'd joked with her friends about this night since about the sixth grade...but now that it was here...everything was thrown out the window and she was just left scared. Even though a witch, and even though she'd faced Janice and Austin earlier, and even though she'd gotten through her wedding ceremony…she was still scared about something like this.

"...how about we just...kiss...and see where that leads us?" Unknowingly, John was also quoting the same words his father, his brother, and even Eric had once said on a night like this, once upon a time.

"O-Okay." Harmony stammered, her heart pounding like a drum in her chest. Slowly, she leaned forward, capturing John's lips in her own. Before the girl knew it, or could stop it, the kiss had deepened, and she had wrapped her arms around John's neck, and slowly fell backwards on the bed.


	143. The Morning After

Sunshine peered through the cracks in the curtains, waves gently lapped against the shore, seagulls cried out their songs, and the regular sounds of the palace awoke Harmony. Drowsily, she opened one blue eye, before shutting it again and snuggling closer to John, in an attempt to fall asleep. This was nearly an impossible task though, because the girl's mind refused to fall back asleep. With an annoyed breath coming out of her, the girl rolled away from her new husband, and lifted herself up from bed.

Though today, June 1st, was the first official day of summer, the palace was still kept cool, and therefore the marble flooring in Harmony's room felt like an icicle on her bare feet. Actually, now that she thought of it…all of her room felt way too cold against her exposed skin.

Quickly, the girl grabbed her seldom used, dark blue robe from a drawer, and pulled it on, before looking back for a second at John. He was sprawled out across the bed now that Harmony was gone, snoring lightly, and still fast asleep. Rolling her eyes at him, but doing so with a grin, the girl pulled open one of the French doors that lead to her balcony, and slid outside into the sunlight and warmth.

She winced a moment at how bright the sun was, but then quickly grew accustomed to it. She let her hands rest lightly on the balcony railing for a moment, before she gripped it harder, and pulled herself up on the railing. She let one leg go straight on the railing, but made her other leg rest at an angle, so that she could wrap her arms around in and rest her chin above it. Softly, she let a song fall from her lips, as she stared wonderingly out at the sea and let a thoughts of the previous day, and night, run through her mind. Everything had been great, in its own way…

_"That's why I couldn't be happier. No, I couldn't be happier. Though it is, I admit, the tiniest bit, unlike I anticipated. But I couldn't be happier. Simply couldn't be happier…"_

Harmony stopped her soft song a moment, her brows furrowing as she thought this through. Maybe that wasn't the exact right word choice.

"Well – not 'simply '.The girl corrected herself, frowning slightly, before continuing on with her song.

" _'Cause getting your dreams, it's strange, but it seems, a little - well – _complicated._ There's a kind of a sort of…cost…_

The cost of getting this far, Harmony mused, had been a dangerous one. She'd had to break a few limbs, nearly kill herself, watch some horrifying things, and have memories that were just too awful for words embedded into her young mind for the rest of her life.

"_There's a couple of things get…lost…_

Shuddering slightly, Harmony pressed her fingers against her #1 sister pendant for a moment, closing her eyes and trying to force the bloody image of her brother out of her mind. She'd lost more than just a brother that day…she'd also lost any chance at a normal life.

"_There are bridges you cross; you didn't know you crossed, until you've crossed…" _

Like she'd said in her speech; she'd crossed and burned some bridges, and then turned back around wondering how she could have done such a thing. But…she'd made a promise to herself not to dwell in the past. Because, throughout all of that, she'd learned some valuable lessons.

"_And if that joy, that…thrill, doesn't thrill you like you think it will…"_

She'd done some reckless things, for reasons that could only be understood if you'd seen someone die…and then, slowly, she had found out that no matter how reckless she was, it wasn't a thrill, it was a death warrant. That's what made her stop cutting, and smoking, though she still had slipups, they were far better than before.

"_Still - with this perfect finale, the cheers in valley, who, who, wouldn't be happier? So, I couldn't be happier. Because happy is what happens…when all your dreams come true…" _

She should be thrilled. After all, all her dreams had come true; she was hurting herself any longer, she'd found someone to love, her Shireland accepted her and cheered for her new life with John…so she shouldn't be happier…all her dreams had come true…so then why did she still have doubts?

"_Well…isn't it?" _

Harmony questioned herself in song softly, watching as the waves lapped against the shore in no particular pattern. She had more adventure in her life, she had a guy, no, she was completely and utterly happy…right?

"_Happy, is what happens, when your dreams come true…" _

"Not necessarily." A voice made Harmony whip her head in the direction of her French doors. John was leaning against one easily, wearing only a pair of pants that he had probably just pulled on. His hair, like Harmony's, was wavy with dried sweat, though that didn't seem to bother him at all. And he hardly seemed to be bothered by the way Harmony was precariously sitting on the balcony railing; she was a witch, he wasn't worried that something wrong could happen.

"Eavesdrop much?" Harmony wondered with an eye roll to herself, as John grinned, and kept leaning against the French door in a rather cool fashion.

"Mornin' to you too." The boy grinned even wider, despite the annoyed look Harmony sent him at that. Right now she wasn't in the best of moods. "Anyway, just because your dreams come true, it doesn't mean you _have_ to be happy. I mean, like, you're different—don't give me the stink eye, you _know_ I'm right—from everyone else; you just need to, like, get used to everything. Let it all sink it, and then you'll be happy." John stated, his words wise, but his tone that of a teenager, because he still _was_.

"When did _you_ become philosopher of the year?" Harmony wondered, her eyes dancing with teasing, so that John wouldn't think she was sour with him. His words made sense…but where he got those words from worried Harmony. She couldn't have him being all philosopher-y on her now…

"I'm not philosopher of the year; I'm just way smarter than you." John said in a teasing fashion back, loving this crossfire. It was fun to do this sort of thing with Harmony; it was just nice to have someone just roll their eyes at him…which is what Harmony did exactly.

"Remind me…why do I keep you around, you ego-maniac?" Harmony wondered, hopping off the railing and landing about as gracefully as an alligator on a merry-go-round.

"Because I'm undeniably sexy and I'm a good kisser." John reminded with a crooked grin, catching Harmony by her waist as the girl tried to walk past him and back into her room to take a bath, and pull on a pair of jeans. Pulling her close, he started to leave a trail of kisses down her neckline, as Harmony laughed, and quickly escaped.

"Save it for the honeymoon, _Johnny_." The girl teased, making John wince at the name that not even _Harmony_ was allowed to call him. Sashaying into the room, the girl looked coyly over her shoulder, before calling back, "I call dibs on first in the bathroom."

* * *

**Song: Thank Goodness, sung by Kristen Chenowith, playing Glinda in the Broadway musical Wicked :)**


	144. Love's a Rhapsody

"Are you sure you have _absolutely_ everything?" Margaret asked both Harmony and John worriedly, who only rolled their eyes in response.

"For the four hundredth time Mother, _yes_." John answered, hopping down from the back of the truck and onto the ground again. They were going to take Harmony's truck to the little cottage in a secluded wood where they would be honeymooning for the next three weeks. Originally, the plan had been to take a nice open air carriage to the cabin…but that would take nearly four hours, compared to the one hour in Harmony's truck if she stepped on it. After much begging this morning, Ariel and Eric had relented and said the teenagers could take the truck, without a glamour too, since Harmony claimed she'd hardly slept the night before (not a lie) and was too exhausted to put one over the truck.

"You just can never be too careful you know…" Ariel trailed off, watching as Harmony threw a small bag into the backseat of the truck, and then poked her head out of the door.

"Don't worry Mom. We got it under control." Harmony answered with a grin, before disappearing back into the truck. Both Harmony and John's individual trunks had already been packed into the trunk area of the truck before the two had gotten up, so now that the hard stuff was done, they were just checking on the little stuff.

"That's what you said last time, and I got my head stuck in a conch shell!" Melody said to her sister, who gave her a grin through the truck window but didn't say a word in response.

"Omg, J.P. is goin' out with Miranda!" Coral exclaimed, not paying any attention whatsoever towards her cousin and her Aunt as she stared straight at her phone. Ah, the modern age of electronics.

"_Again_?" Harmony's voice called from the front seat of the truck, as she put the eye in the ignition to check her gas. Coral looked up, nodding up and down furiously.

"Uh huh. I think she apologized or something…" Coral trailed off, starting to press her fingers against the keypad of her phone again…before her phone was snatched away, out of her hand.

"Your cousin is going to be gone for three weeks sweetie. I'm not going to let you keep doing whatever on this phone until _after_ she's gone so you can say goodbye." Ariel reminded, as Coral's eyes grew wide with unfairness practically within the green.

"Uncle Eric!" The girl whined, pleading her case with her Uncle. Maybe he would be a safer bet…

"Listen to your Aunt, Coral. " Eric warned, ending the conversation then and there with his tone. Coral pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, and Melody gave her a halfhearted shrug as though she was saying 'sorry'. "Harm, are you _sure _you have everything?" Eric questioned, hoping that Harmony would say 'no' and have to spend another three or four minutes with them, at the castle, still. She was at the starting point at her life, as ready as she'd ever been…but he didn't want her to go.

"Maybe you should double check everything…" Leroy said, slightly uneasily as he stood as faraway from the truck as possible. When it came to these things from Nebraska…you could usually count him out.

"Dad," Harmony laughed easily, jumping down from the truck. "You're about as bad as mom is. Don't worry; everything is fine." The girl said, her blue eyes dancing excitedly at the prospect of leaving soon.

"Their just being parents Harmony." Lance reminded the girl, and an ultra superior tone that nearly drove her mad. Just because he had a son, and was two years older than her, didn't make him _that_ much more mature!

"Parents." A voice next to Coral snorted. "Annoying things, aren't they?"

"Em!" It seemed all four teenagers cried out (four including Melody), tripping over one another to get closer to Emma, who merely stood still and grinned. There were a dark pair of glasses over her eyes, she was wearing a long, cut off tee-shirt, and hopefully she was wearing short shorts underneath it, and a pair of fuzzy purple bedtime slippers. Her hair was frizzy, curled, and flat ironed at the same time, because the girl had literally just awoken minutes ago.

"I thought you weren't comin'." John said, grinning even wider then as he tugged on the girl's messy locks. "Nice hair." Emma yawned, waving her hand dismissively in the air, still exhausted from the night before, and graduation after parties.

"Ugh. My brother started doing 'jumping jacks' on my bed, for some reason or another, and obviously it woke me up. And ya, I know my hair looks like crap; I was going to do something to with it later." Emma said, yawning still as she peered through her dark sunglasses that hid the puffiness from crying under her eyes, at Harmony and John and Melody and Coral.

"Emma…how are you dear?" Ariel treaded lightly around the teen, placing a motherly hand on her shoulder. Though she'd promised the girl they could go back to normally hating each other by now…really the redhead couldn't do it. She was a mother after all. Still, she wasn't expecting the girl to stiffen beneath her touch and swat her hand away.

"Idk why your touchin' me Ice Queen." The girl said, trying to keep things as normal as possible. "Maybe your high or something; yeah, maybe that's it." The girl laughed tiredly to herself, before checking her phone clock, and then looking back up at John and Harmony.

"Shouldn't you guys be goin' by now?" The girl wondered, waving the time in front of Harmony and John, who looked at each other, and then grinned recklessly.

"Yeah. We prob should." Harmony said, grinning still, before both teens turned towards their parents for goodbyes.

It's needless to say that these goodbyes went on for what seemed like ever, each parent having something to add to keep the honeymooners from going on their honeymoon. But finally, there was nothing left to say, except goodbye and give a hug to everyone. Harmony skipped up the to drivers seat, and John road shotgun, both of them grinning at each other, before waving goodbye from a truck window, and watching as the gates opened to allow them to leave. Eric and Ariel stood next to Margaret and Leroy, each parent already feeling the bittersweet feeling of losing their child to adulthood, as they all struggled not to cry.

_"Baby get ready, get set, don't go…" _

"What's with the sad song? C'mon, switch it up. Let's pump it…actually, let's pump it right here, right now, in this truck…" John said with a devilish, laughing along with Harmony, who had her iPod out, and was listening to music for the drive.

"Chill John. We've only got an hour until we reach the cottage. I think you can wait 'till we're actually in a place where there's a _bed_…" The girl answered back, grinning prettily at the boy, who grinned just as beautifully right back at her. There was a silence in the truck, for just a moment, but a moment all the same. John turned towards a driving Harmony, and gently let his hand run down the side of her face.

"_J'taime, ma petite __sorcière_" He said quietly, pushing the pause button on the iPod so that he could hear Harmony's response. The girl took her eyes off the cobblestone road for a second, to look at John and, like a schoolgirl, she blushed and smiled shyly.

"_Te amo_." She answered back, softly, and lovingly.

And at that moment, she finally figured out where she wanted to be for the rest of her life. Not in Shireland. Not in Nebraska. But in the one place where everything was always, and would always be alright. With John. Because, after all, even though Love's a Rhapsody, and that meaning it was one heck of a roller coaster ride...

Harmony Katherine Althea Manelin wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**And that, my friends, is the end of Love's a Rhapsody! Whew! **

**I know, I know, I haven't been faithful in updating like I said, and I'm truly sorry. But I knew that if I didn't write out ALL the remaining chapters first, and THEN post, that this story would never be finished! So, I updated I think ten or nine or eight chapters tonight, and that wraps up this story! XD **

**To tell you the truth, I'm a little relieved that this story is done. It's been just dragging on for what seemed like ever...I'm so ready to start on my new Harmony series story (and make it shorter, lol). But I can't do that, until I finish my other two stories. **

**I know it seems impossible, but I feel like gum on the bottom of your shoe for not updating my other two stories in an even LONGER time than this. Really, I feel so terrible! But, thankfully now that this story is done, I can focus on the other two, and hopefully finish them very soon. **

**Thank you all for putting up with my sporadic updates on this story, and sticking with me for this long! All you reviewers are on my happy faced list, all you favoriters or subscribers or whatever but non-reviewers are on my sad faced list, and all of you who read this story and don't review or favorite or whatever are on my crying list. See, this is the order! :) :( :*(**

**I will probably start writing out a chapter for my Ariel or Beauty and the Beast Story tomorrow, but please guys, don't expect an update 'till at least Saturday. I might just take a break tomorrow, because for the past two weeks every night all I've been doing is writing a chapter. I think I may have carpel tunnel! **

**The Title contest is still going on until I update a new Harmony story...so just sayin...:)**

**Also, I need to make three special mentions. The first to Aurore Goddess of Dawn and xJadeRainx, the tied title contest winners for this story! XD And the third, is to the person who was too lazy to write a name in their review for the 'I'm Not Gonna Cry' chapter contest, which was to find the hidden song. So good job! This is your prize, unknown-person, for figuring out that the song was in Harmony's speech, and that it was Lesson's Learned by Carrie Underwood. **

**Thanks again to everyone who's put up with me this long! :) I hope all of you continue to read and hopefully like this series for just a little bit longer. **

**P.S. Harmony's Wedding Dress Link is on my profile. **


End file.
